Update: Prosecution appeals court order to release rights lawyer Malek Adly

The prosecution appealed a court ruling to release human rights lawyer Malek Adly on Thursday, with a session set to review the decision Saturday.

Earlier on Thursday, South Benha Criminal Court ordered Adly's release with no bail, his lawyer Mokhtar Mounir told Mada Masr. The prosecution initially informed lawyers they would not appeal the decision, but they later filed an appeal.

"We were surprised to see the prosecution appealing the appeal, which violates Article 167 of the Criminal Procedures Law," lawyer Khaled Ali wrote on his Facebook page.

Adly has been detained for three months on charges of plotting to overthrow the government, joining a group aiming to obstruct the application of the law, spreading rumors to incite people against the government, and deliberately spreading false news concerning a deal to transfer the sovereignty of two Red Sea islands Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia.

His lawyers appealed a ruling extending his detention by 15 days for the eighth time on August 13.

Adly's family has raised concerns over the conditions in which he is being held, reportedly without access to necessary medication, resulting in his transfer to hospital four times.

The court's decision to release him follows a campaign by Adly's family and lawyers after he spent 100 days in solitary confinement, where he has reportedly been kept for his entire detention. The campaign was supported by a number of public figures, including former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi.

Another international campaign was launched by international lawyers, with a petition circulated demanding the release of the rights lawyer and calling on respective governments and the European Union to take action against what it called the Egyptian state's systemic practices of abuse, torture and abduction in detention.

The petition read: “We believe that Mr. Adly’s conditions of detention, the obstruction of his legal representatives and the charges he is facing are indicative of a wider pattern of repression directed at Egyptian lawyers and campaigners who have been at the forefront of efforts by civil society groups to support Egyptian citizens facing harassment, prosecution and abuse by the state security agencies and the judiciary for the peaceful exercise of their constitutional and internationally-guaranteed rights to freedom of expression and association.”