CAIRO (AP) — Prosecutors have ordered the release on bail of an opposition leader accused of publicly making an obscene finger gesture in January.

Wednesday's ruling came one day after Khaled Ali was summoned by prosecutors for questioning over the alleged incident outside a Cairo courthouse.

Ali unsuccessfully contested presidential elections in 2012. He did not run in the 2014 elections which el-Sissi won, but told The Associated Press in February he was considering running next year.

Prosecutors have set his bail at 1,000 Egyptian pounds (around $55).

A key figure among a small core of mostly young secular activists, his candidacy would be a long shot. But he sees it as a way to breathe life into Egypt's leftist forces after years of disarray in the midst of a government crackdown.