A Cairo criminal court accepted on Monday a prosecution appeal against a motion to release seven low-ranking policemen pending trial for inciting their colleagues to strike.

The court ordered the men, who have been detained since their arrest in February, to be detained for an additional 45 days. The detentions may be further renewed if no verdict has been issued. 

A court had on Sunday ordered the seven men released pending trial. 

The policemen are charged with "forming a cell inside the interior ministry inciting their colleagues to strike."

They also face charges of "joining a group that aims to negatively affect and harm one of the state's executive authorities."

They were arrested  at the Egyptian Media Production City on the outskirts of Cairo, where they were on their way to participate in the talk show "10pm" on Dream channel.

They were scheduled to speak on controversies involving alleged police violence in Egypt.

Among those arrested was Mansour Abu-Gabel, the spokesperson for the coalition that led the sit-in of lower-ranking policemen in the Nile Delta governorate of Sharqiya last summer, demanding financial and social benefits.

Following their arrest, police reported the seven policemen were in possession of drugs and an unlicensed gun.