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Egypt Detains Dozens of Opposition Party Members


Egyptian students chant anti-government slogans during a protest organized by the Muslim Brotherhood (file photo)
Egyptian students chant anti-government slogans during a protest organized by the Muslim Brotherhood (file photo)

Egyptian security forces have detained at least 65 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, the latest in a series of crackdowns on the opposition party ahead of next month's elections.

Muslim Brotherhood lawmaker Hussein Ibrahim says police arrested group members early Tuesday in the coastal city of Alexandria as they were hanging up posters for one of the group's female candidates in the November 28 parliamentary elections.

Security officials say the posters had religious slogans, which are in violation of election laws.

Authorities have arrested at least 250 members of the opposition group this month.

The Muslim Brotherhood is Egypt's largest opposition group. It gets around a government ban on the party by running its candidates as independents.

In 2005, the Brotherhood shocked Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party by capturing a fifth of parliament's seats.

There are 508 seats at stake in the Egyptian parliament's lower house in the November elections, with another 10 seats appointed by the president. Earlier this month, the Muslim Brotherhood announced it was fielding candidates for 30 percent of the seats.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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