Ali Bishr.

CAIRO — Egyptian police on Thursday detained Mohamed Ali Bishr, one of the few Muslim Brotherhood leaders to escape jail after last year’s overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, extending a sweeping crackdown on political dissent.

Bishr, a veteran politician who served as a cabinet minister under Morsi, was accused of inciting violence and terrorism and of seeking to overthrow the government after he called for mass protests on Nov. 28, state media said.

Since the army toppled Morsi in July 2013, Egypt has banned the Brotherhood, its oldest Islamist movement, labelled it a terrorist organisation and rounded up thousands of its members. The Brotherhood has denied any involvement in militant violence.

With much of the leadership, including Morsi, in jail, Bishr had played a key role in keeping the group’s activities alive underground. He was also involved in a pressure group that had pushed for Mursi’s reinstatement and was banned last month.

The group, the National Coalition to Support Legitimacy and Reject the Coup, condemned Bishr’s arrest, which came a day after 25 protesters were detained in downtown Cairo.

The outlawed Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Brotherhood, also denounced the arrest and said Bishr had served seven years in jail, in 1999-2002 and 2006-2010.

Bishr is be held for 15 days of questioning, according to state media.