CAIRO: Egyptian authorities on Saturday renewed the detention of nearly 100 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, including several high-ranking members facing military trials, a security source said. The 94 Islamists are under administrative detention in various cities pending investigations on charges of belonging to an illegal organization. Nine of the renewals were for Brotherhood members who will be facing trials in military court for money and financing a banned group, including the movement s number three, Khayrat Al-Shater. Issam El-Erian, spokesman for the movement, confirmed the action, though he said that most of the detention renewals actually occurred on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, a Cairo court upheld an earlier ruling freezing the assets of 29 members of the organization and their families as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on the movement. The Brotherhood is by far the largest and most organized opposition movement in Egypt and holds one-fifth of the seats in parliament through individuals who ran as independents.
