Egyptian Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud on Monday referred political activist Albert Saber – charged with insulting religion – to a misdemeanours court.

Albert was arrested on 13 September after allegedly posting the controversial anti-Islam film, 'The Innocence of Muslims' – which prompted widespread protests throughout the region earlier this month – on his Facebook page.

Saber's first court session has been scheduled for 26 September.

According to prosecutors, investigations have revealed that Saber created pages on online social-networking sites promoting atheism, criticising religion and committing blasphemy.

Egyptian human rights organisations on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Egypt's interior minister and a handful of police officers, claiming that Saber's arrest had been made without judicial permission and that he had been subject to torture while in detention.

Protests against the contentious film left two dead and 250 injured in Cairo in mid-September.