Prominent Egyptian political activist Sana Seif released from prison

Egyptian activist Sana Seif was released on Tuesday after serving six months for "insulting a member of the prosecution".

Seif, whose older brother Alaa Abdel Fattah is currently serving a five-year prison term, was jailed in May only months after she was freed by a presidential pardon in another case.

She had been caught up in a renewed crackdown on secular dissidents who had called for protests against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for handing over two islands to Saudi Arabia.

Dozens were arrested shortly before a protest on 25 April in Cairo which ended with police dispersing the rally using tear gas and detaining more activists.

Seif's conviction stems from a summons on suspicion of inciting protests. She did not attend and was charged with "insulting a member of the prosecution", a judicial official said at the time.

Although the verdict could have been appealed after it was issued in May, Seif refused to contest it. Instead, she handed herself in.

"Simply, I do not have the energy to deal with their measures," she said in a Facebook post at the time.

Seif had been pardoned last October after she was imprisoned for a 2014 protest outside the presidential palace in Cairo.

After leading a military coup that overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, Sisi has been accused by activists of installing a heavy-handed regime that tolerates no dissent.

Police has since killed hundreds of Islamist protesters, while a jihadist insurgency has killed hundreds of police officers and soldiers.

In April, Egypt's president handed over the two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia during a visit by King Salman to Cairo.

Last week, an Egyptian court upheld a ruling by a lower tribunal that annulled Sisi's decision.