CAIRO, Egypt: In Egypt, two Shiite activists who were arrested in October while campaigning against torture have been released, their lawyers said on Sunday December 2.

In a joint statement, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre (HMLC) said Mohammed Ad-Dereini, who heads the Shiite Supreme Council for the Care of the Prophet's Family, was released on Saturday while Ahmed Sobh, who runs the Imam Ali Centre for Human Rights, was freed on November 25.

Dereini, held on October 1, was charged with "spreading false rumours and inciting propaganda that could promote terror amongst people, disturb public security and the rule of law and undermine the trust in security agencies through claiming that prisoners and detainees died as a result of torture in prisons."

Dereini and Sobh had also given separate interviews in which they said there was widespread torture of Islamist detainees in Egyptian jails.

Their detention drew sharp criticism from local and international rights groups.

According to the London-based human rights organisation Amnesty International, torture in Egyptian detention centres is systematic, and in most cases the perpetrators are never brought to justice.