Egypt frees Brotherhood activists

Egyptian prosecutors have ordered the release of 109 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood who were arrested last month in a crackdown on pro-reform protesters.

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is pressing for reforms

The release announced on Wednesday brings to more than 500 the number of Brotherhood members and supporters freed since last month.

More than 800 Brotherhood loyalists, including leading figures of the banned but tolerated organisation, were arrested in the crackdown.

Aljazeera reports that Egyptian security services arrested two members of the pro-reform Kifaya (Enough) movement. Another 13 members of the Brotherhood were rearrested in the northern province of Dagahliya, about 120km northeast of Cairo.

The government has also introduced amendments to the presidential election law currently under discussion in the Egyptian parliament, Aljazeera added.

Release

Wednesday’s release of the Muslim Brotherhood members was ordered by Prosecutor-General Maher Abdel Wahed, a police official said.

A lawyer for the Brotherhood, Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud, said a total of 43 members had been redetained for 15 days in various provinces. The discrepancy in figures could not be immediately reconciled.

The Brotherhood has been banned since 1954, but the government allows it to function albeit with restrictions.

Since March, it has joined secular activists in staging demonstrations calling for pro-democratic reform.

The Brotherhood says it seeks to establish an Islamic state through peaceful means. Brotherhood supporters, who sit as independents, form the largest opposition bloc in
the parliament.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies