Egyptian authorities release scores of Muslim Brothers members

The Egyptian authorities released scores of members of the Muslim Brothers groups who were detained following demonstrations demanding reforms that took place by the beginning of the month.

In an indication to a political detente, though partial in the country, the authorities freed 163 members from the opposition group including the director of the Islamic research in al-Azhar, Sheikh Sayed Askar, and some lawyers and trade union and other advocates who work as Imams for mosques at the ministry of al-Awqaf.

Still, several leaders of the group including in particular the second ranking man in the movement, the secretary general of the guidance office Mahmoud Izzat, and the leading figure Issam al-Aryan are still detained. A source at the ministry of the interior said that 486 members of the Muslim Brothers are still detained. The Egyptian authorities had detained hundreds of the group's cadres and its leaderships during the few past months following demonstrations organized by the group which demand democratic reforms and accused them of being members in a legally banned group and seeking to revive their activities and organize meetings without prior license and provoking riots.

The group which constitutes the largest opposition political organization in the country protested over the constitutional amendment which permits multi candidates in presidential elections. The group took part with the opposition trends in refusing the amendment which severely restricts the nomination of independent candidates.

In the few past days, the authorities released scores of the group which announced persistence to cling to reform demands and seek to take part in the next parliamentary elections. This came at a time when families of scores of Egyptian detainees observed a sit-in at the headquarters of the Bar association in Cairo demanding the release of the detainees and ending the emergency law which allows holding persons in custody untried. The sit-in was attended by families of 40 detainees.