A women's group is being interrogated by Emirati prosecutors in relation to an ongoing investigation into a secret organisation accused of plotting to overthrow the government, according Emirates News Agency (WAM). Salim Saeed Kubaish, the UAE attorney general announced that prosecutors are investigating what is allegedly the women's branch of an organisation charged with attempting to seize power in the Gulf state, said WAM. Kubaish said the women's branch is vital to the overall structure of the organisation. He stressed that the women under interrogation are being treated with respect, adding that “the law does not differentiate between people on the basis of their gender," WAM reported. UAE authorities last week refused to release 11 members of the Muslim Brotherhood following a request made by an Egyptian delegation that travelled to the country last week. The 11 men have been held for over a month and are charged with leading a Brotherhood cell in the UAE. The UAE authorities asserted that the men have to face legal proceedings and that nobody would be released on political grounds. Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Amr stated last week that Egypt does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. Mahmoud Ghozlan, spokesperson for the Brotherhood in Egypt said that he was unaware of any women connected to the Brotherhood being interrogated in the UAE. Women can only become members of the Brotherhood through family ties; however they play an important role in the organisation. During the decades that the Brotherhood was persecuted by former Egyptian regimes, women were able maintain the activities of the organisation whilst the male members were imprisoned.
