Egypt cops arrest 39 Brothers
2008-07-21 14:50
Cairo - Egyptian police say they've arrested nearly 40 members of the country's largest opposition group, the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
A police official said 39 men were arrested on Monday during a raid on a camp north of Cairo. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment on the matter.
The official said the men were training to "revive" the outlawed group. But the men, aged 18 to 35, said they were only on vacation.
Though officially banned, Brotherhood members ran for political office as independents, and they held about a fifth of the seats in Egypt's parliament.
Egypt's government had carried out a steady campaign of arrests against the group. More than 800 members had been detained so far this year.
- AP