Egyptian security officials say a prominent activist has been detained, the latest in a new wave of arrests since presidential elections earlier this year.

The officials say Hazem Abdel-Azim was taken from his home in a Cairo suburb late Saturday on accusations that include disseminating false news and belonging to an outlawed group.

Abdel-Azim has been known for his harsh criticism of the government since he left President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s campaign in the 2014 elections.

The officials spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to media.

Egypt has arrested a number of secular activists since el-Sissi was re-elected in March in a vote in which he faced no serious challengers.

The latest arrests come amid a wider crackdown on dissent in which thousands of people have been jailed. </s> Egyptian authorities have detained prominent opposition leader Hazim Abdelazim and three security sources told Reuters on Sunday.

The latest development in what rights groups say is a campaign to silence government critics.

Egypt has in recent weeks arrested several prominent activists in a crackdown on critics that followed small protests against hikes in metro fares.

Abdelazim was arrested at his home in Cairo late on Saturday night on suspicion of publishing false news and inciting against the state, one source said.

Once a deputy telecoms minister under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, Abdelazim was later heavily involved with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s 2014 election campaign where he chaired the youth committee.

He later described the experience on his Twitter profile as his “biggest sin.”

The interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last week, Egyptian authorities arrested award-winning blogger and journalist Wael Abbas, accusing him of involvement with an illegal organisation and publishing false news.

Abbas’s arrest followed those of at least three other prominent opposition figures.

Rights groups say Egypt’s human and civil rights record has deteriorated under Sisi, but his supporters say his tough security policy is needed to ensure stability as Egypt recovers from years of political chaos and tackles economic challenges and an Islamist insurgency.

Sisi won a second term in office in a March election that featured only one other candidate – himself an ardent Sisi supporter – after all serious opposition contenders halted their campaigns citing intimidation and several arrests. </s> CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s state security prosecutors ordered on Sunday that a prominent opposition leader, Hazim Abdelazim, be detained for 15 days pending investigation over joining an illegal organization and publishing false news, a judicial source said.

FILE PHOTO: A Cairo street sign showing Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ahead of the presidential election, March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

Egypt has in recent weeks arrested several prominent activists in a crackdown on critics that followed small protests against hikes to metro fares.

Abdelazim was arrested at his home in Cairo late on Saturday night, a security source had said earlier.

Once a deputy telecoms minister under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, Abdelazim was later heavily involved with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s 2014 election campaign where he chaired the youth committee.

Abdelazim later described the experience on his Twitter profile as his “biggest sin.”

The interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last week, Egyptian authorities arrested award-winning blogger and journalist Wael Abbas, also accusing him of involvement with an illegal organization and publishing false news.

Abbas’s arrest followed those of at least three other prominent opposition figures.

Rights groups say Egypt’s human and civil rights record has deteriorated under Sisi, but his supporters say his tough security policy is needed to ensure stability as Egypt recovers from years of political chaos and tackles economic challenges and an Islamist insurgency.

Sisi won a second term in office in a March election that featured only one other candidate, himself an ardent Sisi supporter, after all serious opposition contenders halted their campaigns citing intimidation and several arrests. </s> Hazem Abdel-Azim, who had campaigned for President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, became one of the president's harshest critics after abandoning the campaign trail in the 2014 elections.

Abdel-Azim was taken from his home in a Cairo suburb Saturday night, and accused of belonging to an outlawed group and disseminating fake news.

On his Twitter profile, Abdel-Azim says: "I have been right and I have made mistakes, and my biggest mistake was accepting to join Sissi's campaign." He has 752,000 followers on the social media site and regularly criticized the president.

Abdel-Azim had been a deputy telecoms minister under ousted President Hosni Mubarak before chairing the youth committee for el-Sissi's election campaign four years ago.

Police officials spoke about Abdel-Azim’s detention on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press. Reuters said three security sources had confirmed the reports.

Watch video 01:58 Share Egypt in the age of el-Sissi Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2uyCC Egypt in the age of el-Sissi

Crackdown on dissent

El-Sissi was returned to office in March in an election that presented no serious challengers to his rule. Since then Egyptian police have arrested several secular activists.

Blogger and journalist Wael Abbas was arrested at his home on Wednesday. Sherif Gaber and Shady Abuzaid were also arrested.

Earlier in May, journalist and researcher Ismail Alexandrani was sentenced to 10 years in jail after being arrested in November 2015, accused of membership of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Read more: El-Sissi is Egypt's new strongman

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bik/jm (AP) </s> Maldives police have arrested a leader of opposition political party on a charge of plotting to overthrow the government.

A joint opposition statement said Jumhooree Party leader and lawmaker Qasim Ibrahim was arrested Thursday evening on the charges of "attempting to influence no confidence motions against the Speaker of Parliament" and "plotting to overthrow the government."

The arrest comes days after the government defeated a no-confidence motion against the speaker and thereby prevented the opposition bid to take control of Parliament.

The opposition says the charges are "trumped-up" and demonstrate the willingness of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom's government to "subvert state institutions in order to pursue and persecute anyone to who attempts to hold him accountable." </s> Authorities in Sudan were holding an Agence France-Presse journalist on Thursday after he was arrested a day earlier while covering demonstrations against rising food prices that were dispersed by police.

Abdelmoneim Abu Idris Ali, a 51-year-old who has worked for AFP in Khartoum for nearly a decade, was covering the protests on Wednesday in the Sudanese capital’s twin city of Omdurman, where riot police fired tear gas on some 200 protesters

Idris Ali was unreachable after the protest and authorities informed AFP on Thursday that he had been arrested along with two other journalists, including one working for international news agency Reuters, and was being held at a detention center run by Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS).

Authorities initially said Idris Ali would be released within hours but as of late Thursday, more than 24 hours after he was detained, the reporter was still being held.

Authorities said the three journalists “are being investigated” but provided no further details.

“AFP management strongly condemns the arrest of Mr. Idris Ali and asks Sudanese authorities for his immediate release,” the agency said.

Several protesters were also reported to have been detained at the demonstration.

Sporadic protests have erupted across Sudan after prices of food items, but mainly bread, surged following a jump in the cost of flour due to a shortage of wheat supplies.

Wednesday’s rally was called by the main opposition Umma Party, a day after a similar demonstration was held near the presidential palace in Khartoum following a call issued by the Communist Party. Tuesday’s protest was also broken up by police.

Similar protests were held in late 2016 after the government cut fuel subsidies.

The authorities cracked down on those protests to prevent a repeat of deadly unrest that followed an earlier round of subsidy cuts in 2013.

Rights groups said dozens of people were killed when security forces crushed the 2013 demonstrations, drawing international condemnation.

Critics have repeatedly accused President Omar al-Bashir’s regime of cracking down on the media in Sudan, with watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranking the country 174th out of 180 countries in its 2017 World Press Freedom Index. </s> US condemns arrests of AFP reporter, others at Sudan demo

Washington, United States | AFP | The United States condemned Sudan’s arbitrary detention of journalists Friday after an AFP reporter and two colleagues were arrested covering a street protest.

Abdelmoneim Abu Idris Ali of Agence France-Presse and at least two more journalists were taken away by authorities on Wednesday as they reported on a demonstration against rising food prices.

They have not been allowed contact with their families or employers and authorities say they are being held “for investigation” by Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS).

“We are aware of the detentions and are closely following the reports,” US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told AFP.

“We condemn the harassment, arbitrary detention and attacks on journalists in Sudan who are doing their jobs and exercising their fundamental right to freedom of expression.”

The United States has had difficult relations with Sudan, on which it once imposed several economic sanctions regimes over its alleged support for terrorism and brutality against the people of Darfur.

But last year US officials removed the last of the sanctions as part of a deliberate diplomatic engagement process.

Concerns remain, however, about the regime of Omar al-Bashir, who is under indictment by the International Criminal Court accused of ordering mass killings, rape and torture in the Darfur region.

“We remain deeply concerned about freedom of expression, including for members of the media, the closing of political space for all Sudanese, and Sudan’s poor overall human rights record,” Nauert said.

“We continue to press Sudan to improve its performance in these areas, and to ensure that those detained are treated humanely and fairly… and that they are allowed access to legal counsel and their families.”

Idris Ali, a 51-year-old who has worked for AFP for nearly a decade, was covering protests Wednesday in the city of Omdurman, where riot police fired tear gas at some 200 protesters.

He was unreachable after the protest and authorities informed AFP the next day that he had been arrested along with two other journalists.

Authorities initially said Idris Ali would be released within hours but as of late Friday, more than 48 hours after he was detained, he was still being held.

“AFP management strongly condemns the arrest of Mr. Idris Ali and asks Sudanese authorities for his immediate release,” the agency said.

Several protesters were also reported to have been detained at the demonstration.

Sporadic protests have erupted across Sudan after prices of food, notably bread, surged following a jump in the cost of flour due to a shortage of wheat.

Wednesday’s rally was called by the main opposition Umma Party, a day after a similar demonstration organized by the Communist Party in Khartoum was broken up by police.

Authorities cracked down on similar protests in 2016, and rights groups say dozens were killed by security forces in 2013 protests.

Critics have long accused Khartoum of persecuting the media, with watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranking the country 174th out of 180 countries in its 2017 World Press Freedom Index. </s> Sudan’s army has detained President Omar al-Bashir after he was removed from power in the wake of the protests that escalated against his 30-year rule.

“I announce as minister of defence the toppling of the regime and detaining its chief in a secure place,” said Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, Sudanese defence minister and army general, on state television on Thursday.

Ibn Auf, according to Reuters, said the 75-year-old veteran leader had been detained in a “safe place” and a military council would now run the country.

“A military council will take control of the country for two years, after which elections would be held,” he added.

The army general disclosed that the African nation had been suffering from “poor management, corruption, and an absence of justice”.

The defence minister thereafter announced a state of emergency, a nationwide ceasefire and the suspension of the constitution.

The president was overthrown in a coup by the armed forces following a series of protests in Khartoum, capital of the country. The protesters had demanded his resignation.

There were also reports that some senior figures close to President al-Bashir in the ruling National Congress party had been detained. </s> CAIRO, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Egypt confirmed on Sunday that it had arrested an Al Jazeera news producer, accusing him of "provoking sedition" on behalf of the Qatar-based broadcaster that it considers a mouthpiece of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Judicial sources said Mahmoud Hussain, who was detained on Friday, was being held on charges of disturbing public security and spreading false news.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that Al Jazeera officials "had ordered some individuals collaborating with the channel inside the country to continue implementing its media plan of provoking sedition, incitement against the state, and spreading chaos through broadcasting false news."

It identified Hussain as a person implementing that plan for the channel which is not allowed to operate inside Egypt.

Al Jazeera was not immediately available for comment.

Egypt has arrested several Al Jazeera reporters over the past two years, raising concerns over media freedoms in the country.

In May, a Cairo court recommended the death penalty against two of them, charged in absentia with endangering national security by leaking state secrets to Qatar.

The Brotherhood is a Qatar-backed movement that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has cracked down on since an army takeover in 2013 stripped former president Mohammed Mursi - a prominent member of the group - of power following mass protests against his rule.

Thousands of Brotherhood supporters including Mursi are in jail and Egypt has designated the group, which says it is non-violent, a terrorist organisation. (Reporting by Haitham Ahmed and Ahmed Mohammed Hassan; Writing by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Security sources say that prominent opposition leader Hazem Abdel-Azim has been detained.