Egyptian police round up Brotherhood members Cairo, Egypt 21 May 2007 09:52
Egyptian police detained a second batch of 14 leading members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood in the Nile Delta in dawn raids on Monday, the Brotherhood said. The detentions bring to about 39 the number of members held since Saturday morning in a campaign which the Islamist movement says is an attempt to disrupt its plans to contest June 11 elections for the upper house of Parliament. The latest detainees include Abdel Aziz Abdel Kader, the deputy leader of the organisation in the Nile Delta province of Sharkia, where police rounded up 14 leading members on Saturday, the Brotherhood said on its website. A further 11 members of the Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group, were detained on Saturday in Beni Suef town south of Cairo while putting up election posters, it added. The website said that 18 members were able to file nomination papers for the elections to the Shoura Council before the deadline for nominations on Sunday. The Brotherhood had planned to field about 20 candidates for the 88 seats at stake but state security prevented some members from submitting their papers, Brotherhood officials said. A spokesperson at Brotherhood headquarters said it was not yet clear how many candidates had failed to complete the procedures. An Interior Ministry spokesperson said he had no information about the detentions on Monday morning. The Brotherhood, which advocates transforming Egypt into an Islamic state through non-violence and elections, won 88 seats in the 454-seat Parliament in 2005. The authorities call it an illegal organisation and refuse to let it form a party. Police often detain members for holding meetings, possessing Brotherhood literature or belonging to an illegal group. The authorities began a crackdown on the movement late last year and are holding about 300 members, mostly without charge. Khairat el-Shater, who ranks third in the Brotherhood hierarchy, and 39 others face trial in military court, and Parliament has lifted the immunity of two Brotherhood members of Parliament for questioning about meetings they attended. - Reuters
