60 held over Gaza protests
2008-12-04 14:12
Cairo - Egyptian police raided the homes of
members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday and
took away about 60 of them, including organisers of recent
protests against the government's role in the blockade of Gaza.
The dawn raids were in the Nile Delta provinces of Sharkia
and Gharbia, the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and the Suez
Canal town of Ismailia, police and Brotherhood sources said.
The police sources said the number held was 60 and could
rise. The Brotherhood website (www.ikhwanonline.com) named 47.
Peaceful protests
The Brotherhood, which is close to the Hamas movement that
runs Gaza, has organised a succession of peaceful protests in
the provinces in recent weeks demanding the government open the
Egyptian border with Gaza for goods and people.
The Egyptian government co-operates with the Israeli blockade
of Gaza, in line with an agreement signed in 2005.
Cairo is worried that if it opens the border against Israeli
wishes, it might have to assume full responsibility for
supplying Gaza with everything it needs, analysts say.
The government calls the Brotherhood an illegal organisation,
but allows it to operate openly within limits.
Police often hold members of the Islamist organisation for
long periods without trial or formal charges.
The group said
last week that about 171 members were then in detention.
- Reuters