Egypt arrests 19 rights activists, lawyers in 'escalating crackdown'

Egyptian authorities arrested at least 19 lawyers and rights activists on Thursday, Amnesty International said, condemning what it called an "appalling setback".

The rights group called the arrests "an alarming escalation of a crackdown on human rights workers" in Egypt.

"Today's chilling wave of arrests... is yet another appalling setback for human rights in Egypt," said Najia Bounaim, Amnesty's North Africa campaigns head.

"Anyone who dares to speak out about human rights violations in Egypt today is in danger."

Eleven people close to Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood, including human rights activists, were arrested on Thursday, their lawyer said.

Lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsud earlier told AFP that 11 activists close to the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested and expected to appear before a judge.

The Brotherhood was outlawed and branded a terrorist organisation in December 2013, months after the military ousted democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi following mass protests against his rule.

Egyptian authorities have since led a brutal crackdown on political dissidents, rounding up thousands and sentencing hundreds to life in prison, or death, in grossly unfair mass trials.

Human rights groups estimate that as many as 60,000 political prisoners languish in Egyptian jails, significantly more than under Hosni Mubarak's dictatorship.