Egypt police arrest former Sisi aide amid crackdown on dissent

A former close ally of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was arrested overnight after police raided his home in a Cairo suburb, Al Jazeera reported.

Political sources told the Doha-based outlet that police detained Hazim Abdelazim late on Saturday on charges of "insulting the state and spreading fake news".

"Security forces surrounded his home and closed off the street as they arrested him," the report said.

Abdelazim was an aide in Sisi's 2014 presidential campaign but has recently become a staunch critic of the leader.

The arrest comes amid a wave of arrests of leftist activists since elections earlier this year.

Wael Abbas - a blogger known for his anti-government stance - was arrested earlier this week.

Since 2013, international human rights groups have criticised Sisi's government for cracking down on secular and left-wing activists, as well as Islamists close to the banned Muslim Brotherhood.

Amnesty International has condemned the recent arrests a "new low in Egypt's crackdown on freedom of expression".