islamic-video.com

6/13/2006 11:30:00 AM GMT
 

Egyptian police arrested 220 Muslim Brotherhood members on Monday, bringing the number of those detained to more than 850 since the police began rounding them up three months ago, The Hindu reported.

A lawyer for the Muslim Brotherhood said the men were arrested at a protest in support of a top group member, Hassan al-Haiwan, who is on trial in Zaqaziq, 80 km northeast of Cairo.

"We were under the impression that they would release them, but they haven't. Some might get 15 days detention," said the group's attorney, Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud.

Al-Haiwan is charged with illegal possession of weapons and inciting violence during last years’ parliamentary elections.

Maqsoud said the court ruled that Haiwan be released yesterday, but he wasn’t.

According to a statement on the group's Web site, more than 10,000 security officers surrounded about 2,000 Brotherhood members at yesterday's protest.

The statement said the police beat the protesters with batons and fired rubber bullets and tear gas at them, wounding more than 10 people.

The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928 and officially banned but tolerated by the authorities, made gains in Egypt’s last year’s parliamentary elections, with candidates running as independents with brotherhood support doing better than those from other opposition parties.