CAIRO: Of the 300 detained members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), 120 have been freed during the past few days, MB Deputy Leader Mohamed Habib told Daily News Egypt.
He added that those who were arrested in the run-up to the Shoura Council (Upper House of Parliament) elections last June, should not have been detained in the first place.
“The government’s decision to arrest them was unfair; there was no reason for it, he said. “The arrests are shameful and they distort the image of Egypt and its dignity.
He said that arresting citizens for their political affiliations has a negative effect on the investment atmosphere in Egypt, making a sleek reference to the interrogation last week of Al-Dostour daily newspaper’s editor-in-chief Ibrahim Eissa, who was accused of triggering public panic and causing substantial losses in foreign investment by spreading rumors about the president’s health.
His trial begins on Oct. 1. If found guilty, Eissa faces a three-year jail sentence.
But Habib considers the release of the detainees to be a positive development and hopes the authorities would reconsider their decision to try civilians in military courts, referring to the current case of 40 MB leaders.
But the move does not signal a change in the government’s attitude towards the group, as according to Habib, “the government has always used the carrot and the stick strategy when dealing with us.
On a related issue, Habib denied that the protests by MB prisoners in Borj Al-Arab against bad treatment were behind the decision to release the 120 detainees.
“People protest all the time and the government does nothing,’ Habib said.
On the other hand, political analyst Fayek Fahim told Daily News Egypt that political detainees are always released at the beginning of Ramadan.
Fahim described the move as part of the “game played between the government and the Muslim Brotherhood.
“They were originally arrested to stop them from participating in the Shoura elections, but now the elections are over, there is no reason to keep them, Fahim added.
Besides, the government never gives reasons for releasing MB prisoners, he said.
“Sometimes we get reasons for the arrests but we never get reasons for the release, Fahim added.
