Journalist released then detained again

A lawyer says Egyptian prosecutors have ordered the 15-day detention of the chief editor of an independent news website shortly after he was ordered to be released from prison in a different case, notes a News24 report. Defence lawyer Fatma Serag said Masr al-Arabia chief editor Adel Sabri was ordered to be detained on charges of spreading false news and joining an outlawed group. Serag says Sabri, who was arrested in April on similar charges including operating an unlicensed website, was set to be released on Monday last week on bail of 10 000 Egyptian pounds ($558) before he was summoned for interrogation over his involvement in the other case. The report adds Egypt has regularly arrested journalists since the 2013 military overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist President, as part of a wider crackdown on dissent.

Full Fin24 report