CAIRO — Egypt’s interim president on Sunday banned public gatherings of more than 10 people without prior government approval, imposing hefty fines and prison terms for violators in a bid to stifle the near-constant protests roiling the country.
The new law is more restrictive than regulations used under the rule of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, overthrown in Egypt’s 2011 uprising that marked the start of unrest in the country.
Rights groups and activists immediately denounced it, saying it aims to stifle opposition, allow repressive police practices, and keep security officials largely unaccountable for possible abuses.
“The law is giving a cover to justify repression by all means,” said Bahy Eddin Hassan, head of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, one of the local groups that had campaigned against the law.
In a separate development Sunday, a public prosecutor referred Mubarak to a new trial on charges of embezzling some $18 million worth of state funds to build and renovate family homes.
The prosecutor also referred two of Mubarak’s sons, two government officials, and two contractors to stand trial with the former leader.
No trial date was set. Mubarak faces a retrial over his alleged role in the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising against him and separate corruption charges.
The military-backed government first floated the public assembly law in October. Interim President Adly Mansour approved a slightly amended version Sunday, which removed a proposed ban on sit-ins and a draft portion criminalizing ‘‘insulting the state.”
The law requires three-day prior notice for protests.