The arrival of “SNL Arabia” comes as cultural repression is deepening in Egypt and other parts of the region. In Saudi Arabia, blogger Raif Badawi is serving a 10-year sentence for “insulting Islam” on his website. In Bahrain, the government has jailed journalists on what human rights groups describe as flimsy charges. Turkish authorities seized control of the nation’s largest newspaper earlier this month.
You don’t know exactly what will put you behind bars,” said Amr Salama, the show’s director.