Egypt’s largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, accused the government on Tuesday of increasing arrest campaigns against its members after the group announced its participation in the parliamentary elections slated for November.
Brotherhood spokesperson and member of the group’s Guidance Bureau Essam al-Erian told reporters that 21 Brotherhood members have been arrested in the past two days.
Al-Erian said the detentions are part of the regime’s strategy of intimidating the Brotherhood in an effort to prevent it from registering political gains in the upcoming poll. In 2005, Brotherhood members won 88 parliamentary seats.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s official website said 11 members were arrested in Alexandria Monday night. Ten members from Daqahliya were apprehended north of Cairo Sunday on charges of “endangering public security,” according to the website statement.
The Brotherhood also accused security authorities of targeting its affiliate university students, as well as storming bookstores and companies owned by group members and their relatives.
Last Saturday, the group announced it will vie for 30 percent of the 518 People's Assembly seats, including the 64 seats allocated for females.
