Egypt arrests 51 members of Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Egyptian police on Sunday arrested 51 members of the country's largest opposition movement, the banned Muslim Brotherhood, according to the police, the group's lawyer and its Web site. The dawn arrests in three provinces were the latest in an ongoing crackdown on the Brotherhood and came three days after more than 50 other members were arrested in sweeps elsewhere in Egypt. The group's official Web site said Sunday it expected more arrests in the coming hours. The Web site listed the names of those detained Sunday, saying they were seized in raids on their homes in Dakahliya, located about 120 kilometers northeast of Cairo; Ismailia, located about 120 kilometers east of Cairo; and Beni Suef, about 95 kilometers south of the capital. A police official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed Sunday's arrests. The detainees were believed to be potential candidates in the upcoming provincial council elections. Earlier Sunday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced that those elections would take place on April 8, Egypt's official news agency, MENA, quoted him as saying.