CAIRO (AP) Prosecutors on Thursday sent to trial two of the most prominent Egyptian activists involved in the 2011 uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak, charging them with taking part in an "illegal" protest and allegedly assaulting policemen during demonstrations last month, judiciary officials said.
The officials said the two Ahmed Douma and Ahmed Maher will be in court on Sunday for the first hearing.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
This is the first referral of activists to trial linked to the recently enacted protest or assembly law, which places draconian conditions on staging street demonstrations. The military-backed government has defended the law as a desperately needed measure to restore law and order in order to help the battered economy recover.
The trial of Douma and Maher is the latest turn in the turmoil engulfing Egypt since 2011, and signals a growing rift between the government and liberal activists five months after the ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in a coup that followed demonstrations by millions calling on him to step down.