Egypt orders release of 5 group members
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-17 13:57

Egyptian authorities on Sunday set free four members of the Muslim Brotherhood, including Essam el-Erian, a senior leader of the banned Islamic group detained for more than five months without being charged, police said.

Five other members were also ordered to be released by Egyptian authorities, including another senior leader, Yasser Abdou.

After his release, el-Erian told The Associated Press that "it would have been ridiculous to keep me in detention without charges and without court decision."

El-Erian, Abdou and three other leaders were rounded up May 6 along with 200 other members just hours before nationwide anti-government protests that police alleged they organized. Hundreds of Brotherhood members have been detained in recent months amid increased protests against President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's leader for 24 years.

Egyptian authorities can hold detainees for six months without trial under a much-criticized emergency law issued in 1981 after Islamic militants assassinated President Anwar Sadat.

Government officials did not say why they ordered the release of el-Erian, Abdou and the other members.

"The timing of the release is important, and bewildering," said Diaa Rashwan, Cairo-based expert on Islamic groups. "Is this a message to the outside world or to the Muslim Brothers? I'm not sure."

El-Erian, 51, attributed his release partly to Egyptian media pressure in the run-up to next month's parliamentary elections. Many recent protests by the Brotherhood and secular groups have also demanded the release of el-Erian and his colleagues.

El-Erian said he will consult with his family, supporters and fellow Brotherhood members before deciding if he will run for parliament. The group has announced it is planning to field 150 candidates in the elections, more than double the number that ran in 2000 elections.

Since 1995, el-Erian, a former lawmaker, has spent five years in jail on charges of belonging to a banned group that sought to create an Islamic state in Egypt, which could derail any attempt to run for office again.

It was not immediately clear when Abdou and the other members would be released.

The Muslim Brotherhood, believed to be Egypt's largest Islamist group, was established in 1928, banned in 1954 and renounced violence in the 1970s. It advocates an Islamic government and has supporters sitting as independents in parliament, holding 15 seats as the largest opposition bloc.

The government has never confirmed the number of political detainees in Egypt, but opposition estimates place the number at up to 20,000.