20 held outside court in Egypt
2008-04-15 13:53
Cairo - Egyptian police on Tuesday arrested 20 people including two journalists during scuffles outside a military court that is due to give its verdict in a trial of members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
A security source said that police deployed outside the court at Haikstep, northeast of Cairo, clashed with relatives of the 40 Islamists on trial as they tried to force their way into the court, where proceedings were held in camera.
The 40 men had been on trial since April last year on charges of financing a banned organisation and the often-delayed verdict was due on Tuesday.
The defendants included Khayrat al-Shater, number three in the Brotherhood, who together with other businessmen linked to the group had their assets frozen and were referred to the military court in February.
Egyptian authorities accused the movement, which controlled a fifth of the seats in parliament, of seeking to revive its underground military wing and of eventually trying to topple the regime.
There was no right of appeal against verdicts of military courts.