CAIRO — The Egyptian Interior Ministry announced that it had arrested several politicians and journalists suspected of planning to form a terrorist cell it named as Amal in cooperation with the Muslim Brotherhood, which is designated as a terror group by the Egyptian government. The Amal ("Hope") Alliance is a nascent coalition of liberal and leftist groups.

In a June 25 statement, the ministry explained the case also involves the owners of 19 Egyptian real estate, development and service companies affiliated with the Brotherhood and with a combined capital of 259 million Egyptian pounds (about $15 million), which it alleges is intended to finance demonstrations against the Egyptian government.

The defendants include Zyad al-Elemy, a former leader of the Egyptian Democratic Party and a 2012 member of parliament, and Hassan Barbari, the executive director of the Egyptian Labor Relations Forum, an international human rights organization.

The arrests included two politically active journalists, among others. Hossam Mo’nis is the former leader of the presidential campaign of the 2014 presidential candidate Hamdine Sabah and Hisham Fouad is a leader in the Revolutionary Socialists movement in Egypt.