Leading Egyptian human rights lawyer banned from travel

A leading Egyptian human rights lawyer has been banned from traveling after airport authorities said he was blacklisted over a court case linked to receiving illegal foreign funds.

Airport security authorities ordered Nasser Amin's luggage to be removed from a Cairo-Beirut flight on Thursday.

"I have been banned from travel from Cairo International Airport to Beirut, where I was heading to take part in a legal conference," he said on Friday on his Twitter account.

Amin, who is a member of the state-run National Council for Human Rights, added that he would challenge the travel ban in courts because it violated his "constitutional rights".

"An arbitrary travel ban does not only violate the right to movement and travel, but it is also tantamount to arbitrary arrests and detention," he commented in another tweet.

Dozens of Egyptian rights lawyers and activists have been banned from traveling, while others including holders of foreign passports have been denied entry to the country or arrested on arrival.

This comes as part of heavy-handed security measures imposed by the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who came to power through a 2013 military coup.

Last November, Berlin-based Egyptian researcher and investigative journalist Ismail Alexandrani was detained upon arrival at Hurghada International Airport.

Alexandrani, who is currently detained pending trial, was reportedly accused of "propagating false news" and joining the banned Muslim Brotherhood group.

Others, such as Egyptian Deutsche Welle Akademie trainer Walid el-Sheikh and Germany-based Egyptian academic Atef Botros, were interrogated for hours upon arrival at Cairo International Airport before being deported back.