Egypt arrests more Brotherhood ahead of polls

Amid press reports of large-scale funds allocated by the opposition Muslim Brotherhood for the coming Shura Council elections, Egyptian authorities have detained over 50 members of the banned group, according to security sources Saturday.

"Fifty-two supporters of Muslim Brotherhood candidates in the elections have been arrested between Friday and Saturday in five provinces," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"They were caught hanging up posters with Islamic messages, which is unconstitutional," the source said.

Supporters for candidates running in the June 11 elections for the Shura Council were detained when hanging up posters and handing out leaflets which read "Islam is the solution", the Brotherhood's slogan, the source added.

Constitutional amendments approved in March have banned any political activity based on religion.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch citing lawyers for the Brotherhood, 87 members were arrested between May 12 and May 19. Sixty-four came from districts where the group is fielding candidates.

The Brotherhood is legally banned but largely tolerated and it has 88 MPs in Egypt’s lower house of parliament, making it the largest opposition block in the 454-member People’s Assembly.

"In the week that Egypt boasted about its election to the UN Human Rights Council, it was arresting scores of people solely for exercising their right to free association and free speech," said Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division.

Alleged differences

In a separate related issue, the Brotherhood has allocated 55 million Egyptian pounds ($1=LE5.7) to campaign for the 44 candidates vying for Shura Council seats this month, according to a report Saturday on a state-run daily.

The short report, published by Al-Ahram daily, did not reveal sources or give more information about the hefty amount.

Differences among the ranks of the group were also reported in state-run media Saturday, but the group did not comment on them.

The alleged reports touched on changes to candidates in some constituencies in the eleventh hour and filing some that did not enjoy as much popularity as the ones denied candidacy.

The Brotherhood always accuses state-run media of publishing false reports on its members, finances and activities to defame them.

On May 28, police arrested three candidates running as independents, but affiliated to the Brotherhood, from the Nile Delta town of Mit Ghamr, the rights group said.