Egyptian actor accused of incitement against regime

The Egyptian actor Khaled Abol Naga and singer Mohamed Attia face investigation after a lawyer filed a complaint that they had sought to undermine the government.

Egyptian prosecutor general Hisham Barakat ordered a review of claims by Hisham Ibrahim that Abol Naga incited public opinion by objecting to forced evictions in Sinai and calling for protests against the president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

The star of this year's Oscar-nominated Palestinian film Eyes of a Thief has been vocal in his objection to military rule in the country since the presidency of Mubarak.

The complaint also alleged Attia, who appeared in the television programme Star Academy, last week went to Tahrir Square to protest against the acquittal of former president Hosni Mubarak of murdering protesters during the 2011 revolution.

It is illegal to protest in Egypt without government permission.

The complaint claimed that he had coordinated with foreign intelligence services through human rights organisations to destabilise the country.

Abol Naga said via his Twitter account on December 3 that he had no comment to make on the allegations. Attia reposted his message.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.