CAIRO, 29 November 2005 — Egyptian police arrested nearly 200 Muslim Brotherhood activists yesterday in a crackdown the opposition Islamist group said was designed to weaken its chances in parliamentary elections this week.
The Brotherhood has made a strong showing in four days of voting held so far, increasing its number of seats fivefold, despite arrests of its activists and the blocking of polling stations by riot police in Islamist strongholds.
Arrests were made in areas north of Cairo, northern Sinai and Sohag south of the capital, where voting will take place on Dec. 1 and 7, the officially banned Brotherhood said.
The Brotherhood’s website said 191 activists had been arrested. A police source put the number at 197. Police seized computers and campaign leaflets during the arrests, the Brotherhood said.
Police were still holding 710 Brotherhood activists arrested in the previous two days of voting, he said. The Brotherhood has won 76 of parliament’s 444 seats so far.
