Egypt court puts Sisi critic Abul Fotouh on terror list

An Egyptian court on Tuesday put a leading critic of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government and fifteen others on terror lists at the request of the public prosecutor.

Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, a former leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, is accused of joining an illegally formed group and spreading false news in Egypt that could harm its interests.

He will remain on the list for five years, a judicial official said.

He was arrested on Wednesday after joining a call to boycott next month's presidential election, which Sisi is expected win easily after most rivals were sidelined or withdrew.

The identity of the 15 others put on the terror lists was unknown.

On Thursday, prosecutors ordered Abul Fotouh to be remanded for 15 days over alleged links to exiled members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The interior ministry accused Abul Fotouh, a former candidate in the 2012 presidential election, of having been in contact with the group's members in exile "to sow trouble and instability".

Abul Fotouh was detained shortly after he arrived from London where he gave interviews in which he was critical of the Egyptian government.

Sisi was elected in 2014, a year after the former army chief ousted his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi.

Abul Fotouh had supported mass protests against the Islamist that prompted the military to topple him.

He has since been critical of Sisi, who has launched a bloody and far-reaching crackdown on dissent, detaining thousands of political opponents and suppressing civil society and the media.