Hundreds of April 6 Youth Movement members gathered on Wednesday in front of the Journalists' Syndicate in downtown Cairo to protest a court's decision to ban the group on charges of espionage and defamation.

Cairo's Court for Urgent Matters on Monday ordered for the April 6 Youth Movement to be banned, after a case was filed by lawyer Ashraf Saeed.

The young political movement, which played a vital role in the January 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak, has been the target of an ongoing smear campaign since its foundation.

The group has since denounced the ruling, declaring that they "will keep going with [their] activities and views the way [they] want" and will also appeal the verdict in front of the administrative court.

April 6 was established in 2008 to support a strike by textile workers in the industrial city of Al-Mahalla Al-Kubra. The strike was a milestone in the mobilisation of activists prior to the 25 January 2011 revolution.