EGYPTIAN activist and blogger Alaa Abdul Fattah claimed today that he has been beaten, threatened and tortured in prison following his arrest during anti-government protests last month.

He is one of the the most high-profile figures to have emerged from the 2011 revolution that brought an end to the authoritarian regime of former president Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Fattah was only released from prison in March this year after serving a five-year sentence for organising an illegal protest.

One of the conditions of his release was that he must sleep in a police station every night as part of a five-year probation period.

But he was detained again by the notorious National Security Agency on September 29 outside the police station as the Egyptian authorities seek to quell anti-government protests demanding the resignation of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

The charges against him are unknown. Mr Fattah claimed he was blindfolded and stripped as he was taken to the Tora maximum security prison.

On his arrival he was walked along a corridor where he was severely beaten on his back and his neck.

Mr Fattah was then allegedly taken to an officer who said he hated revolution and said he would spend the rest of his life in jail. 

More than 3,000 journalists and political activists have been detained since protests started on September 20 after property investor Mohamed Ali posted videos on Facebook exposing corruption in the armed forces and the use of public money on Mr Sissi’s vanity projects.

A statement from his family said:  “The fact that he is arrested is, in fact, not about him — but it is to send a message to the wider country: do not imagine for a moment that you will be allowed to protest against this regime.”