Akef says domestic pressure paying off

The recent release of over 300 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's outlawed but biggest opposition force, was due to domestic pressure, the group's Supreme Guide Mohammad Mahdi Akef said yesterday.

"We do not pay attention to foreign pressure on the regime. We just count on pressure at home where tensions mount," he told Gulf News in exclusive remarks.

At the weekend, Egyptian prosecutors ordered the release of 163 Brotherhood members rounded up in recent protests in the Delta provinces. Weeks earlier, the authorities had freed around 150 students.

"The Egyptians are so angry that some political observers say only babies have yet to take to streets to protest against the regime's policies," said Akef.

He added that some 650 Brotherhood members, including top leaders, are still in custody.

"I do not think that the latest releases reflect a shift in the security agencies' approach or admission of their mistakes. They make miscalculations, which violate the law and human rights."

A senior security official denied that human rights abuses are overlooked.

"The interior ministry does not approve any violations of human rights," Assistant Interior Minister Major General Ahmad Diaa Al Deen told the parliament's Defence and National Security committee.

Akef said his group was poised to promote the pro-reform agenda with other movements.

He vowed that the Brotherhood will not give up its pursuit of "genuine" reform.

The writer is an Arab journalist based in Cairo

"The Egyptians are so angry that some political observers say only babies have yet to take to streets to protest against the regime's policies."