700 Brothers arrested in Egypt
2008-03-10 17:35
Cairo - Only 60 of 10 000 members of Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood have been allowed to register candidacies for April's local council elections due to government interference and 700 have been arrested, said one of the movement's lawmakers on Monday.
Mohammed Saad al-Katatni, the leader of the Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc, told reporters in front the parliament in the capital that policemen across the country had prevented members of the organisation from entering the buildings to register.
He said: "The Brotherhood were ready to register in all the local councils. So far 700 of the group's potential candidates have been seized from their homes by police."
Egypt will hold elections in April for the 4 500 municipal councils which manage local utilities and resources in this country of 76 million.
The Brotherhood, which has the largest opposition bloc in parliament, has vowed to contest elections despite the crackdown.
- AP