The governor of the Nile Delta governorate of Sharqia under former President Mohamed Morsi was arrested and jailed for 15 days pending investigation over participating in an “illegal and unauthorized protest,” Youm7 reported Monday.
According to a statement issued Monday by the office of Attorney General Hisham Barakat, judge Hassan el-Nagar, along with some 50 protesters, participated Sunday in a pro-Muslim Brotherhood protest outside a shopping mall in Cairo’s northern district of Nasr City, Youm7 reported.
“The protesters blocked the road and chanted anti-army slogans,” according to the statement.
Nagar, who was the head of the Cairo Appeal Court, denied the charges.
On May 19, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) referred Nagar along with a number of other members of the judiciary to a disciplinary committee for breaking the judiciary law by being engaged in politics and joining the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated Judges for Egypt Movement, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported.
In November 2013, a protest law entered into force that prohibited any demonstrations without the pre-approval of the police; the law has been condemned by numerous rights and press freedom groups groups.
In February, Sisi also issued a law to define terrorist entities. According to the new law, any person described as a terrorist in a court order, will be added to a terrorist list.