Egypt court releases 13 activists detained in protests

An Egyptian court ordered Thursday the release of 13 political activists who were arrested during protests against Egypt's recent deal to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, state-run Al-Ahram news website reported.

The 13 were arrested late April near a coffee shop in coastal Alexandria province and were accused of gathering in preparation for anti-government protests.

On April 25, the Egyptian security forces dispersed limited protests in Cairo, Giza, Alexandria and other provinces and arrested dozens of protesters who rallied against the recent Egyptian-Saudi maritime demarcation agreement to hand over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to the oil-rich Gulf country.

The prosecution later referred 116 of them to urgent trial at a misdemeanor court over charges of organizing and joining protests in defiance of an anti-protest law and attempting to destabilize the country.

The press syndicate in Cairo sued the interior minister for the arrest and detention of tens of journalists and the security besiege of the syndicate, preventing the journalists from doing their job of covering the protests.

Earlier in mid-April, a handful of political groups, including April 6 Youth Movement and liberal and leftist parties supported by former presidential candidates, launched similar protests over the two islands and urged to call off the island deal.

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said in an earlier speech that the two islands originally belonged to Saudi Arabia and it was time for Egypt to return them to their rightful owner.

The maritime demarcation agreement was announced in Cairo during a recent rare, lengthy visit of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz whose country supported Sisi's administration with billions of dollars in aids, deposits and oil supplies. Endit