Cairo, Sep 15 (IANS): An Egyptian court Monday ordered the release on bail of leading activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who is held on charges of protesting without police permit, and referred the case to another court, media reported.

Blogger Abdel Fattah was one of the leading activists who spearheaded the massive protests that ousted president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

He will pay a 5,000-Egyptian pound bail (about $699), and the judge recused himself in the case for feeling uneasiness and referred it to another court, Xinhua reported citing the website of state-run Ahram newspaper.

Abdel Fattah was sentenced in June to 15 years in jail along with 24 others for organising unlicensed protests in November outside the Shura Council (the upper house of the parliament) and defying a controversial protest law that required protestors to report their activities to the state three days in advance.

Abdel Fattah was also charged with assaulting security men and inciting people in protests against the then military-installed government.