Egypt's Beheira prosecution ordered on Saturday the detention of three members of the banned 6 April Youth Movement pending trial on charges of possessing flyers that call for civil disobedience on 11 June.

The three 6 April members were arrested in Abu Al-Matameer district in Beheira governorate.

The group recently launched a campaign calling for a nationwide civil disobedience to protest a number of economic, social and political conditions such as price hikes, reports of mistreatment of civilians by security forces, and repression of all opposing opinion.

The 6 April Movement has called last month on people to stay home on Thursday 11 June to "boycott the state," by not going to work, universities, schools or use government facilities on that particular day.

The movement attributed its choice for a civilian strike instead of a street protest because of recent arrests of activists on violations of the protest law.

The law, passed in November 2013,mandates a three-day prior notification period to authorities before protests, and punishes anyone who fails to obtain a permit to up to three years in prison.

Since its passing, thousands of Islamists and other non-Islamist activists have been sentenced to jail for periods ranging fromone to three years based on the law.

A number of 6 April activists have been arrested last week including Alexandrian activist Dalia Radwan, who was charged with membership in a banned group, but was later released on a LE5000 bail.

Last week, 63-year-old Hassan Mubarak was also arrested and charged with belonging to the banned 6 April Movement. Prosecutors have ordered him detained for 15 days pending investigations.

The group, which was founded in 2008, played an important role in fomenting the 2011 uprising against former autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The April 6 Movement was named after the day a mini-uprising took place in 2008 in the industrial city of Mahalahagainst Mubarak.

The group has been persecuted by police before and after the January uprising.

Since the 2013 ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the movement -- which opposes both the Muslim Brotherhood and the post-Morsi government -- has been denounced by many Egyptian media outlets.

A Cairo court banned the group in April 2014.

Many of the group's members, including founders Ahmed Maher and Mohamed Adel, are currently serving various prison sentences for violating the protest law.

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/132097.aspx