Cairo - Egyptian officials say six people have been arrested for their involvement in a play seen as insulting to security forces.

They said Tuesday that the playwright, director and officials of the Cairo sports club where the play was staged were arrested last week and are being investigated by military prosecutors.

The play's title is the name of a police conscript, Suliman Khater, who killed seven Israeli tourists in the Sinai Peninsula in 1985. He was sentenced to life in prison but was found dead in his cell a year later.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.

Last week, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said any defamation of the country's security forces amounted to "high treason."

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