Magdy El-Galad, the editor of liberal El-Watan daily newspaper and Ahmed El-Khatib, a reporter, will face trial for publishing a "false report that could disturb public peace," a judicial official said on Wednesday.

El-Galad and El-Khatib were charged over a recent report that a militant Islamist cell arrested last year compiled a hit list comprising 100 Egyptian figures.

El-Galad, a harsh critic of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood and a former editor of the popular liberal daily El-Masry El-Youm, also hosts a TV Talk Show on the liberal Satellite channel CBC.

Since the election of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last June, a number of journalists have been investigated for "publishing false information or insulting Morsi."

The presidency has said it has withdrawn all its legal complaints against journalists and the remaining cases were brought by private citizens, as Egyptian law allows.