Amnesty calls on Egypt to free MB detainees

Amnesty International has called on Egyptian authorities to release, or at least charge, members of the country’s largest political opposition; the Muslim Brotherhood, who have been arbitrarily detained in the run-up to the parliamentary elections scheduled for November 28.

                     The last count has revealed that security forces have unjustly detained over 190 of the group’s members with the constituency of Alexandria witnessing an additional 70 arrests at dawn on Tuesday.

 In a statement made by the organization, The Human Rights Group, they maintained that those held should be freed or charged with a “recognizable criminal offence”.

According to Malcolm Smart, Amnesty’s director for the Middle East and North Africa, “Those arrested appear to have been detained solely on account of their association with the Muslim Brotherhood organization”.

The MB secured one-fifth of the parliamentary seats, won by fielding candidates as independents in the 2005 elections; something that has not been met with lightly by the ruling regime. The Brotherhood, however, won no seats in a partial vote to the Shura council in June. Witnesses and rights groups have reported that the election was marred by abuses and rigging although officials argued that voting was fair.

Smart added, “If the upcoming elections are to be fair and credible, the Egyptian government must uphold the rights to the freedom of association of all candidates and their supporters”.

Hamdy Hassan, spokesperson for the MB’s parliamentary bloc, asserted that it was obvious that the state’s policies have not changed and that it is continuing its policy to frighten and terrorize people.