Jailan Halawi examines yet another chapter in the state's ongoing clampdown of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood Although it is not unusual for the state to crack down on the Muslim Brotherhood at times, and tolerate the outlawed group at others, whenever Brotherhood members are arrested en masse, speculation abounds. As it did last week, when security forces arrested 54 members of the group in dawn raids across seven governorates that included homes, offices and companies, and ended up shutting down the group's Web site for a day. On Monday, the government accused the group of sending some of its members abroad to receive military training that would allegedly later be used to overthrow the regime by force. The suspects were referred to the prosecution, which ordered them remanded in custody for 15 days pending interrogation. Those detained include prominent members of the group, as well as others from its middle ranks. The state also shut down some 20 companies believed to belong to the Brotherhood, in a bid to lay siege to its assets. The roundups were based on a report prepared by the state security bodies. The report, which was later presented to the prosecution, claimed that the group had been carrying out organisational meetings with the aim of forming new cells and expanding their recruitment policy in order to infiltrate as many sections of the population as possible. The report further argued that the group had sent its members to countries in the midst of internal conflicts and political unrest, such as Iraq, Chechnya and Palestine, in order to obtain martial arts and militia warfare training with a goal towards later using it in Egypt in an attempt to topple the regime. Moreover, the report charged that the group had raised funds under the pretext of sending them to Muslim minorities abroad, and then using the money to expand their banned organisational activities at home instead. The suspects denied all charges, describing the report as "fabricated with baseless evidence". The arrests appear to be part of a long-standing government crackdown on the brotherhood that group members claim stems from their ongoing protests against US involvement in Iraq and in support of Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation. The brotherhood has been active on the political front over the past few months, organising large protest demonstrations denouncing both the war in Iraq, as well as Israel's policy of assassinating the leaders of Palestinian resistant movement Hamas. Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and his successor Abdul-Aziz Al-Rantisi, both of whom were assassinated by Israel, were known for their long-standing affiliation with the Brotherhood. The state has always made it clear that Islamists would not be allowed to legalise their presence on the political scene, constantly referring to the Brotherhood as an outlawed group. As such, say political analysts, the latest arrests are a "message" confirming the regime's policy of alternately accommodating and suppressing the group, while always making it clear who had the upper hand. Since 1994, the state has deployed a "pre-emptive" strategy, directing successive blows of varying intensity in order to ensure that the bulk of the group's energy is channelled into self-defence, rather than planning for increased participation in society and politics. A brotherhood statement described the raid as "a sudden escalation ... at a time when the campaign being led against Arab countries by the US and the Zionists requires solidarity between regimes and all political forces, including the Muslim Brotherhood". In another development, on Tuesday the State Council's administrative court ruled that continuing to hold Tareq El-Zommor, who has served 22 years in prison for his role in the assassination of President Anwar El-Sadat in October 1981, was "a flagrant violation of his personal right to freedom and to return to his family", since El- Zommor has already served his sentence in full. There was no immediate response from the Interior Ministry regarding whether or not it will comply with the court order. A second lawsuit filed by another member of the El-Zommor family, Abboud, who has also served his prison term in the same case, demands the prisoner's release.
