Maliki Mardinalli

We get to the political affairs office and inside a large drab concrete government building,

At the door, the security guard says they're expecting us, and Maliki tightens.

Up a dim stairwell to a large office, three suited officials sit in a row like judges facing out.

One of them is the infamous Sheikh.

We're shown to chairs by their side.

Abu Aziz is already there.

Maliki tells me to put my recorder outside again.

The meeting begins.

It's all in Arabic, but my translator is there and takes notes.

The government officials are stern and condescending.

Their age and authority looms over Abu Aziz and Maliki.

They have the room.

The men from Political Affairs tell the comedians they were insulted by Abu Aziz's post, that it's unacceptable to compare them to the Assad regime.

They ask Abu Aziz how many people saw his post.

He says 47,000 and apologizes, says what he did was wrong.

The officials say that in addition to the post being inappropriate, it wasn't true.

They never canceled the show.

Maliki pushes back.

That's what his fixer was told when he had gone to pay the fees for the show.

Whatever the truth of that, the three officials do have a lot to say about the content of the shows.