Egypt-Saudi deal protesters ordered to be detained

Cairo (AFP) - Egyptian prosecutors ordered Wednesday that 12 people held during a protest against the controversial transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia be detained for four days, officials said.

They were arrested during a rare demonstration in central Cairo on Monday, renewing protests from earlier this year against the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir islands.

The 12 are accused of staging a protest without informing the interior ministry beforehand, said judiciary and security officials and lawyer Ahmed Othman, who is defending one of those held.

Under a 2013 law, demonstrators are required to tell the ministry they are planning a protest, and the ministry is then able to grant or refuse permission.

The 12, who are also accused of attacking policemen and destroying public property, are being held pending further investigation and possible charges.

The transfer of the islands was part of a maritime borders accord signed during an April visit to Cairo by Saudi Arabia's King Salman.

This is being disputed in Egyptian courts, with the government pressing to approve the transfer, saying the islands were Saudi to begin with but leased to Egypt in the 1950s.

The deal prompted accusations that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had "sold" the islands in return for Saudi investments, and led to rare protests in Cairo.