Three prisoners announced in a statement on Sunday that they are starting an open-ended hunger strike to object the court’s rule of imprisonment in their case, as well as others who refused the maritime demarcation deal with Saudi Arabia.

In the statement, the three prisoners—Mahmoud Hisham, Abdel Rahman Hamza, and Mohamed Abu Dawood—stated that they have been detained for at least three months under false allegations of protesting against the sovereignty transfer of two Red Sea islands on 25 April.

The prosecution had accused the defendants of inciting protests and spreading false rumours about Egypt’s sovereignty over the islands.

A large number of young people were arrested for demonstrating across Egypt, after the cabinet announced that the islands were officially included in the Saudi maritime borders as of 10 April.

Meanwhile, political activist Haitham Mohamadein─who is also detained on charges of unlicensed protesting, spreading false news, and belonging to an outlawed group─wrote a letter from prison on Friday criticising the demarcation deal.

He also called for increasing advocacy against the deal. “The case of Tiran and Sanafir requires forming a wide-scale defense front, in order to be terminated,” Mohamadein wrote.