Large crowds of Egyptian protesters have once again poured into the streets of the North African country in solidarity with political prisoners. 

The demonstrators took to the streets of the northern provinces of Alexandria and Sharqia on Friday, and chanted slogans against the military-backed government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The protesters strongly condemned the government's crackdown on dissent and called for the immediate release of detainees.

The demonstrators also expressed support for ousted leader Mohamed Morsi, who received a death sentence last month on charges of orchestrating a prison escape in 2011.

Witnesses said that the demonstrations were largely peaceful until Egyptian forces assaulted the demonstrators and fired teargas canisters to break up the protest rallies.

In another development, a large number of Muslims gathered near the avenue of an ongoing African Union summit in Johannesburg after Friday prayers to demand the release of South African humanitarian aid worker and elderly cleric, Abdus Salaam Bassiouni, who has been in Egyptian custody since December 2014.

Egypt has been the scene of massive anti-government protests, with continuous clashes between security forces and supporters of Morsi.

Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, was ousted in July 2013 in a military coup led by Sisi, the then head of the country’s armed forces.

Rights groups say the army’s crackdown on the supporters of Morsi has left over 1,400 people dead. Some 22,000 people have been arrested, while dozens have been sentenced to death in speedy mass trials.

JR/AS/MHB