Egyptian police released 14 senior members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, including the deputy supreme guide, who are accused of forming terror cells, the Islamist group said Thursday. "Mahmoud Ezzat, Essam el-Erian and 12 other members of the (Muslim Brotherhood) group are now in the comfort of their homes after they were released Wednesday night," the group said in a statement on its website Thursday. It added that the Islamists have been held in custody since two months ago. An Egyptian court had ordered the release of the Islamists on bail on Sunday. However, they could not be released due to the Sham el-Nessim national holiday on Monday. Police had arrested Brotherhood deputy Ezzat and 15 senior members in February on charges of forming "secret terrorist groups" and plotting to overthrow the Government. Among those released Thursday were Abdel-Rahman el-Barr and Mohei Hamed, who are both members of the Guidance Bureau, the group's most influential department, according to the statement. The Brotherhood, which says it wants an Islamic state achieved peacefully, has denied all charges against those arrested. The Islamist group is the country's largest opposition movement and gets around the ban on religious parties by running independent candidates in parliamentary elections. It controls a fifth of Parliament, but is expected to field fewer candidates in elections later this year because of a police crackdown on the Brotherhood.
