More journalists, bloggers, musicians and other public figures are increasingly being summoned to court in an apparent crackdown on freedom of expression in Egypt and Tunisia. But they're not going without a fight.

Egyptian TV satirist Bassem Youssef, who has been compared with United States news parody show host Jon Stewart, this past week had to answer to Egyptian prosecutors over charges of insulting Islam and President Morsi. Although an Egyptian administrative court threw out a lawsuit filed by a Muslim Brotherhood lawyer seeking to ban Youssef and his satirical political show, Youssef still faces other, similar charges.

Meanwhile in Tunisia, rapper Weld El 15 was recently sentenced in absentia to two years in prison for insulting the police. The two cases point to ongoing efforts by Islamist forces to use the courts to muzzle criticism of North African governments.

The fall of dictatorial regimes after the Arab Spring apparently hasn't brought about any durable guarantees for freedom of expression. On the contrary, there seems to be an offensive against free speech in North Africa - yet this is being met with resistance, and the world is looking on.

'Judicial harassment'

Human rights groups note an increase in court cases charging religious defamation. Amnesty International researcher Diana Eltahawy cited an offensive targeting 33 activists, bloggers and politicians over the past few weeks. This represents increasing "judicial harassment" of those leveling political or societal critique, Eltahawy told DW.

This comes despite the new Egyptian constitution guaranteeing freedom of expression. Clauses about defamation opened a legal grey area that certain forces are trying to exploit to muzzle criticism, also in the form of satire.

Eltahawy pointed out that many of the legal challenges are filed by regular individuals or Islamist lawyers. Slander of political figures and denigration of religious values are the primary charges.

But the state prosecution has ultimate say in the matter, Eltahawy added. "They can make the decision not to press charges, not to refer the matters to court," she said. Though it should be defending free speech, instead "the public prosecutor is increasingly charging individuals for freely expressing themselves," Eltahawy said.

Creative expression targeted

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Freedom of expression threatened post-Arab Spring