37 MB Youth Arrested While Vacationing in Alexandria

Egyptian authorities on Monday morning, June 19, 2006 arrested at least 37 of Muslim Brotherhood youth from Alexandria governorate while they were in Mersa Matrouh summer resort spending summer holiday, about 500 km north west of Cairo. At dawn, the security forces raided the building where the young men were staying and took them in police trucks to be detained pending investigatons

In an exclusive statement to Ikhwanweb, MB administrative bureau chief in Alexandria Dr. Osama Nasr said ” These measures come as part of terrorizing campaign perpetrated by the Egyptian regime against some youth going to spend some time at the beach”

Nasr wondered “if vacationing has  become a punishable crime” asking sarcastically if it is better for these youth to go to night clubs or engage in prostitution. Nasr affirmed that  the regime should know better that these detentions will not intimidate Muslim Brotherhood and will not hinder its march towards reform. He also said that the group will follow up the legal ways to have these detainees released, and the MB MPs will table interpellations and requests for information to the parliament.

It is worth mentioning that the Egyptian regime has launched  a fierce campaign against the Ikhwan over the past few months following the parliamentary election due to the tough position adopted by the Ikhwan on the issue of succession of rule in addition to the group’s solidarity to the judges in their pursuit of independence of judiciary authority and separation between authorities. This regime – led campaign led to the detention of hundreds of the Ikhwan members, some of whom were released while a great number of them are serving the usual 15- day renewable detentions, foremost among whom are Dr. Rashad Bayoumi, Dr. Essam el Erian, Dr. Helmi el Gazar and Dr. Mohamed Morsi.