CAIRO: Egyptian security forces banned Saturday a protest by the Muslim Brotherhood planned to take place at the Journalists' Syndicate against extending the detention of seven members of the group. The protest was set to take place after a Brotherhood meeting that was hosted by the syndicate's freedoms committee, headed by Mohamed Abdel-Quddous. MB deputy leader Mohamed Habib, prominent members and MPs had earlier met with media representatives after the Higher State Security Prosecution extended the detention of seven MB members for 15 days. The seven members, part of a group of nine arrested in June, include prominent Egyptian doctor and secretary general of the Arab Doctors' Union Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, The prosecution had accused the nine members of money laundering, joining an illegal group and promoting and financing an illegal group. Sobhy Saleh, Brotherhood MP and a member of parliament's health committee, was outspoken in a speech he gave outside the syndicate after the meeting, saying through a microphone: "The arrests are evidence of the failure of our political system and is an example of the criminal actions our political system has grown used to practicing recently. Saleh said the arrests are politically motivated and are meant to stem the "medical assistance the group provides to the Palestinian resistance. "The government's opposition to our conferences and protests in support of our detained brothers is akin to supporting the Zionist entity, he added. "The government siege of our protest at the Journalists' Syndicate is also similar to the blockade on our family in Gaza.however, those actions will not deter us or other political powers from continuing our protests, Saleh said. The group's website, Ikhwanonline.com, featured photos of security forces preventing members from gathering in front of the Journalists' Syndicate. In an emailed statement to Daily News Egypt, Ibrahim Al-Zafran, a representative of the Arab Doctors Union in Cairo, denounced the arrests of Aboul Fotouh and Gamal Abdel Salam, chairman of the emergency committee at the union and former Brotherhood candidate in the 2005 parliamentary elections. In a speech he gave Friday at Dar Al-Hekma Hospital, Nasr City, Al-Zafran said the detainment of union doctors may "impel the Arab Doctors' Union to move its head office to another Arab country. The union's head office is currently in Egypt. "The detainment of our dear colleagues and prestigious doctors shows a lack of gratitude from the government for what the Arab Doctors' Union has provided this country by participating in international forums and offering scientific and medical aid to the world, he added. In related news, Mahmoud Ezzat, the MB's secretary general, denied local press reports of a secret deal between the group and the Egyptian government for the release of the detainees. Ezzat told Daily News Egypt he is surprised that the "press is talking about secret deals between the MB and the government while the government continues to arrest members daily. The MB is open to negotiations with the government and any other political group, he said, adding that this would be done openly and through legitimate representatives of the group.
