Egypt lawyer 'gives the finger' amid islands verdict celebrations

Khaled Ali, a former presidential candidate, was photographed and filmed making the ill-mannered gesture following Monday's ruling, which prompted impromptu celebrations outside the State Council courthouse.

In Egypt, flipping someone off is done by lowering the middle finger towards the palm while other fingers are kept straight – a move that considered extremely rude.

On Tuesday, notorious lawyer Samir Sabry, well-known for his multiple lawsuits in the name of morality, filed a complaint with the public prosecutor against Ali for "committing a public act of indecency".

"The whole world saw him making that offensive gesture. He has forgotten that he is a man of the law," Sabry said, according to local media.

Egypt's High Administrative Court this week upheld a ruling to void a government agreement to hand over two Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia in a deal that had sparked anger in Egypt.

Pro-regime Egyptian television journalist Ahmed Moussa launched a verbal assault against the lawyer, accusing him of treason against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

"Who are you sending that rude message to? Who are you pointing your finger at? Is this what manners have come to?" Moussa said.

"This picture is being shared like crazy. Tell me if you're a real man who you're directing this rudeness towards? Do you think that you've liberated Sinai?"

Moussa added that Ali and other leftists "hid under their beds" when the Muslim Brotherhood took power and then "ran to the army to save them".

The powerful image has been widely circulated on social media and has inspired dozens of memes. In one humorous take on the picture, Ali is shown giving the finger to a sad looking Sisi, who is watching the celebrations from a balcony.

The ruling marked a major setback for Sisi, who rode to power on a surge of nationalism after leading the 2013 military overthrow of Mohammad Morsi, an Islamist and Egypt's first freely elected president.

Sisi has since presided over a wide-scale crackdown on dissent, banning all unauthorised protests and jailing thousands. But the islands deal has galvanised opposition among many of his former supporters, and hundreds took to the streets last April after it was announced.