Egypt holds 78 Brotherhood members ahead of poll

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

CAIRO, June 6 (Reuters) Egyptian police detained 78 members of the Muslim Brotherhood today, escalating a crackdown against the opposition group ahead of next week's parliamentary election, Islamists and security officials said.

The detentions, the largest single-day toll since February, bring to more than 600 the number of Muslim Brotherhood members in custody five days before elections for the upper house of parliament, the Shoura Council.

''If this reflects anything, it reflects that the ruling party is bankrupt,'' Brotherhood second-in-command Mohamed Habib said, referring to President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP). ''It is not ready for honest ... competition.'' The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's strongest opposition group, operates openly despite being outlawed since 1954. It fields members in polls as independent candidates to bypass the ban.

The ruling party, which maintains a powerful grip on all state institutions, says the Brotherhood is an illegal organisation that seeks to establish an Islamic state. The non-violent Brotherhood says it wants a democratic state based on Islam that would not exclude non-Muslims from power.

Brotherhood members won nearly one fifth of seats in the lower house of parliament in 2005. Analysts say the result has alarmed the government, which wants to stop the group from making more electoral gains that could help it mount a serious challenge to Mubarak, in power since 1981.

A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 30 Brotherhood activists were detained in Fayoum today, while the rest were detained in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura and the province of Giza near the capital.

Brotherhood lawyer Abdel-Moniem Abdel-Maqsoud said one of the detainees was Osman Diab, a candidate in next week's poll.

Police on Monday detained another Brotherhood candidate in the Nile Delta city of Tanta.

Authorities launch regular crackdowns against the Brotherhood and have referred 40 of its members, including third-in-command Khairat el-Shatir, to a military court on charges that include money-laundering and terrorism.

Analysts say the ruling establishment does not want to risk all-out confrontation with the Brotherhood, partly because of fears shutting it down could radicalise some of its members.

Egyptians have largely ignored the Shoura Council elections in the past, but the next ballot is the first since changes to the constitution gave the house some legislative powers.

The amendments, passed in March, include a ban on political activity based on religion, which human rights groups say is targeted at the Brotherhood. The group has registered 19 candidates for next week's election.

''Winning two or three seats in the Shoura Council would not benefit the Brotherhood much,'' said Mohamed Salah, an expert on Islamist groups.

''But for the Brotherhood this election is like a challenge to prove that it is still determined to operate despite the constitutional amendments.'' The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights said today security authorities were harassing opposition candidates by stopping them from campaigning and detaining their supporters.

The Interior Ministry said it was not siding with any particular candidates.

REUTERS KN RK2035

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