CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohamed Mahdy Akef refuted recent local media reports that he had resigned, in a press statement released Monday. Akef said that the group's internal affairs are private and urged the media not to interfere. "The media's role is to monitor and evaluate the Brotherhood's performance and politics, he said. "I think that the tens of Brotherhood members who are detained on a regular basis deserve that media attention . the press should work on investigative features on the arrests rather than focus on stories fabricated by the regime against the group, Akef added. Abdel-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud, the group's lawyer, also denied the news to Daily News Egypt. Reports on Akef's resignation first appeared Sunday night on "El-Beit Beitak talk show, when its host Tamer Amin said Akef resigned because of a disagreement with conservatives in the group over his decision to appoint Essam El-Erian to the group's politburo. El-Erian is a leading reformer who spent five years in jail for his membership in the group. El-Erian refused to comment on the issue to Daily News Egypt. On Monday, independent daily newspaper Al-Shorouk ran a front-page report claiming Akef had resigned. However, it did not attribute the news to any official source from the group. Al-Masry Al-Youm on Monday also ran a report claiming conflicts between Akef and some Brotherhood members following one of the group's meetings on Sunday afternoon. According to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Akef stormed out of the meeting and turned off his mobile phone. Neither Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper nor "El-Beit Beitak attributed their stories to a specific source.
