Prosecutor frees prominent Egyptian youth activist
Ahmed Maher was arrested for ‘incitement’ a few days after he criticized President Morsi’s Islamist party on his movement’s website
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt state news agency says the country’s prosecutor has ordered the release of a prominent youth leader a day after detaining him on accusations that he incited anti-government violence.
MENA reported Saturday that prosecutors are referring Ahmed Maher to a misdemeanor court on lesser charges, including insulting the interior minister and disrupting traffic.
Maher, a leader of the April 6 Youth Movement that was at the forefront of the 2011 revolt, was arrested at Cairo’s main airport as he arrived from the United States on Friday.
April 6 supported Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi in last year’s presidential race against a Mubarak-era official.
Hours before Maher’s release, a spokesman for the Brotherhood’s political party said the group was against his arrest.
Maher’s detention sparked a wave of anger among activists and the April 6 youth movement, which was at the forefront of the country’s 2011 uprising, who called for nationwide protests, including one in front of President Mohammed Morsi’s house.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
