CAIRO: In the midst of arrests of opposition supporters by Egyptian authorities before next month's parliamentary elections, Amnesty International called for all those detained to either be charged or released. The Muslim Brotherhood has seen at least 85 members arrested in the past two days during police raids on homes in Alexandria. Those arrested were said to be involved in election campaigning. Currently, all those that have been arrested and detained are being held without charge. In addition to the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, authorities have arrested at least four members of the April 6 Youth Movement, an opposition youth activist group. These members were arrested on the grounds of holding an unauthorized public gathering as well as distributing brochures that called for a boycott of the upcoming elections, but were then released on bail. Malcolm Smart, the director for the Middle East and North Africa for Amnesty International, stated in a statement on its website: “These arrests are the latest evidence of a growing government clampdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups in the run up to the first round of the elections on November 28." Since October 9, when the Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohamed Badie, announced that the group will have candidates running in the election, more than 260 supporters have been arrested. More than 70, who were arrested earlier this month, have already been released. The April 6 Youth Movement's members have been identified as Salwan Muhammad Said, Mohammad Abdallah, Mahmoud Ahmed Hamed and Magdy Abdel-Rahman. The Muslim Brotherhood has been banned in Egypt officially since 1954, but its members have openly run as independent candidates in previous parliamentary elections. The group has gained wide support and is often seen as the main competition to Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party. "The Egyptian authorities must respect the rights of opposition groups and activists to undertake peaceful campaigning without interference or persecution if the elections are to be free and fair. All those detained must be released unless they are charged with a recognizable criminal offense,” stated Smart.
