EGYPT: Clampdown on Islamists ahead of elections

The Egyptian government is cracking down on the Muslim Brotherhood ahead of municipal elections scheduled for April 8.

Almost 100 members of Egypt's oldest Islamic group have been arrested recently in many provinces. The group's lawyer says it's a common tactic — but that the Muslim Brotherhood has always survived.

In elections in 2005, it won 20% of the seats in parliament.

Since then, the government has tried to curtail the group's influence through arrests and a media campaign. The measures were combined with a number of amendments that the ruling party introduced to the Egyptian constitution last year imposing more restrictions on political participation by the 80-year-old organization.

In the meantime, an Egyptian military court is expected to hand down a verdict in a case involving 40 Muslim Brotherhood leaders on Feb 26. Among other things, the defendants are accused of financing terrorist activities and money laundering.

— Noha El-Hennawy in Cairo

Photo: Demonstrators held up Qurans during a Muslim Brotherhood protest at the Cairo Book Fair last month. Credit: VICTORIA HAZOU/EPA