CAIRO: Fifty-six Muslim Brotherhood (MB) members have been detained early Thursday amid an ongoing clampdown on the group. Security sources said the men were arrested on charges of belonging to an outlawed group and possessing anti-government literature. The Brotherhood, which operates openly despite being officially banned, is Egypt s most powerful opposition group. State-run newspaper Al-Ahram said security forces have arrested 78 Brotherhood members who were about to lead nationwide protests dressed in "pseudo-military uniform. Those arrested include the office managers of three MB members of parliament, reported www.ikhwanonline.com, the group's official website. The Brotherhood said many professionals were also held, including doctors, engineers and teachers. Mohamed Habib, MB deputy leader told The Daily Star Egypt that this clampdown is the hardest of its kind. Before what happened last Thursday, the maximum action that the government used to take was to detain five to 10 members at a time temporarily or freeze their financial assets, Habib said. This is aimed at preventing the group from voicing its stance on the constitutional amendments and political views that threaten the government, he added. Above all, the government wants to put pressure on us to disable us from running in the coming Shura council [Upper House of Parliament] elections, Habib said. The fresh arrests came a week after Egypt referred 40 members of the group including third-in-command Khairat El Shatir for trial in military courts, where verdicts are often issued quickly and cannot be appealed. Those 40 men, who face terrorism and money-laundering charges, will be the first Brotherhood members to face military trials since 2001. The Islamist group has said it was preparing for a tough legal fight. Egypt stepped up its pressure on the Brotherhood since the group s strong showing in 2005 elections for the lower house of parliament, in which the group won nearly one-fifth of seats with members running as independents to bypass a ban. The clampdown intensified after a protest by Islamist students at Al-Azhar University in December in which MB-affiliated students appeared wearing militia-style uniforms. That protest infuriated the government and prompted state media to say the group was forming a militia. The Brotherhood denies the accusations. Several hundred Brotherhood members have been arrested. The group s finances have also been targeted, with authorities detaining financiers, freezing assets and raiding businesses. Additional reporting by Reuters
