Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq has implied that Mohamed ElBaradei, former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency and currently an opposition leadership figure, may be pursued by security forces.
In an interview broadcast on Egyptian Television on Friday, when asked why some activists were arrested after the government pledged not to arrest protesters in Tahrir Square, Shafiq responded: “Egyptian authorities have not arrested any of the protesting youth who left Tahrir."
He added: “If any were rounded up, that’s because they had been visiting a man who has been very irritating to us and is tracked by state security at the moment.”
Shafiq did not name ElBaradei, however Egyptian authorities had on Thursday arrested seven activists from the National Association for Change as they were leaving Elbaradei’s home.
News reports also said that ElBaradei had been put under house arrest following the massive protests on 28 January which called on President Hosni Muabrak to leave office.
ElBaradei, meanwhile, denied the news about being forced to remain at his home.
