Hazem Abdel-Azim, who had campaigned for President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, became one of the president's harshest critics after abandoning the campaign trail in the 2014 elections.

Abdel-Azim was taken from his home in a Cairo suburb Saturday night, and accused of belonging to an outlawed group and disseminating fake news.

On his Twitter profile, Abdel-Azim says: "I have been right and I have made mistakes, and my biggest mistake was accepting to join Sissi's campaign." He has 752,000 followers on the social media site and regularly criticized the president.

Abdel-Azim had been a deputy telecoms minister under ousted President Hosni Mubarak before chairing the youth committee for el-Sissi's election campaign four years ago.

Police officials spoke about Abdel-Azim’s detention on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press. Reuters said three security sources had confirmed the reports.

Watch video 01:58 Share Egypt in the age of el-Sissi Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2uyCC Egypt in the age of el-Sissi

Crackdown on dissent

El-Sissi was returned to office in March in an election that presented no serious challengers to his rule. Since then Egyptian police have arrested several secular activists.

Blogger and journalist Wael Abbas was arrested at his home on Wednesday. Sherif Gaber and Shady Abuzaid were also arrested.

Earlier in May, journalist and researcher Ismail Alexandrani was sentenced to 10 years in jail after being arrested in November 2015, accused of membership of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

Read more: El-Sissi is Egypt's new strongman

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bik/jm (AP)</s>CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s state security prosecutors ordered on Sunday that a prominent opposition leader, Hazim Abdelazim, be detained for 15 days pending investigation over joining an illegal organization and publishing false news, a judicial source said.

FILE PHOTO: A Cairo street sign showing Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ahead of the presidential election, March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

Egypt has in recent weeks arrested several prominent activists in a crackdown on critics that followed small protests against hikes to metro fares.

Abdelazim was arrested at his home in Cairo late on Saturday night, a security source had said earlier.

Once a deputy telecoms minister under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, Abdelazim was later heavily involved with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s 2014 election campaign where he chaired the youth committee.

Abdelazim later described the experience on his Twitter profile as his “biggest sin.”

The interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last week, Egyptian authorities arrested award-winning blogger and journalist Wael Abbas, also accusing him of involvement with an illegal organization and publishing false news.

Abbas’s arrest followed those of at least three other prominent opposition figures.

Rights groups say Egypt’s human and civil rights record has deteriorated under Sisi, but his supporters say his tough security policy is needed to ensure stability as Egypt recovers from years of political chaos and tackles economic challenges and an Islamist insurgency.

Sisi won a second term in office in a March election that featured only one other candidate, himself an ardent Sisi supporter, after all serious opposition contenders halted their campaigns citing intimidation and several arrests.</s>Egyptian security officials say a prominent activist has been detained, the latest in a new wave of arrests since presidential elections earlier this year.

The officials say Hazem Abdel-Azim was taken from his home in a Cairo suburb late Saturday on accusations that include disseminating false news and belonging to an outlawed group.

Abdel-Azim has been known for his harsh criticism of the government since he left President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s campaign in the 2014 elections.

The officials spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to media.

Egypt has arrested a number of secular activists since el-Sissi was re-elected in March in a vote in which he faced no serious challengers.

The latest arrests come amid a wider crackdown on dissent in which thousands of people have been jailed.</s>Egyptian authorities have detained prominent opposition leader Hazim Abdelazim and three security sources told Reuters on Sunday.

The latest development in what rights groups say is a campaign to silence government critics.

Egypt has in recent weeks arrested several prominent activists in a crackdown on critics that followed small protests against hikes in metro fares.

Abdelazim was arrested at his home in Cairo late on Saturday night on suspicion of publishing false news and inciting against the state, one source said.

Once a deputy telecoms minister under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, Abdelazim was later heavily involved with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s 2014 election campaign where he chaired the youth committee.

He later described the experience on his Twitter profile as his “biggest sin.”

The interior ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last week, Egyptian authorities arrested award-winning blogger and journalist Wael Abbas, accusing him of involvement with an illegal organisation and publishing false news.

Abbas’s arrest followed those of at least three other prominent opposition figures.

Rights groups say Egypt’s human and civil rights record has deteriorated under Sisi, but his supporters say his tough security policy is needed to ensure stability as Egypt recovers from years of political chaos and tackles economic challenges and an Islamist insurgency.

Sisi won a second term in office in a March election that featured only one other candidate – himself an ardent Sisi supporter – after all serious opposition contenders halted their campaigns citing intimidation and several arrests.
Security sources say that prominent opposition leader Hazem Abdel-Azim has been detained.