CAIRO - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said on Wednesday some of its members had been wrongfully arrested in United Arab Emirates (UAE) on allegations of helping to train local Islamists in subversion tactics.
"I know 11 people were detained. I know that some of them are from the Brotherhood," said Mahmoud Ghozlan, a Brotherhood spokesman in Cairo. "The claim that they are a cell seeking to destabilize the country is devoid of truth."
The arrests came to light on Tuesday when a UAE newspaper reported the authorities had arrested an "Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood cell," citing an unnamed source.
The oil-rich UAE, which has long voiced distrust of the Muslim Brotherhood that helped propel Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to power this year, arrested about 60 Islamists last month, accusing them of being linked to the Egyptian group and plotting to undermine governments in the Gulf region.