Mass arrests of Egyptian Brothers

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Police in Egypt have detained 75 supporters of the opposition Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood.

They were apparently detained after doing promotional work for Brotherhood candidates in next week's election to the upper house of parliament.

The Muslim Brotherhood is outlawed in Egypt, but it has registered a number of candidates for the elections who will stand as independents.

The group said 40 members were seized in the Fayyoum area, south of Cairo.

They included the local Brotherhood candidate, Uthman Diyab.

Reports say the detentions have taken place over the last three days.

The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights said on Wednesday that the authorities were harassing opposition candidates by stopping them from campaigning and detaining their supporters, the Reuters news agency has reported.

Trial

On Monday, the military trial of more than 40 members of the Muslim Brotherhood, resumed briefly, before being adjourned.

More than 100 lawyers turned up to represent the accused at a military base north of Cairo, but only a few were allowed into the courtroom.

Reporters, human rights workers and members of the defendants' families were also excluded.

Defendants pleaded not guilty to charges including terrorism and money laundering and the trial was adjourned.

Muslim Brotherhood members standing as independents enjoyed significant success in the 2005 parliamentary polls, despite allegations of serious irregularities favouring President Hosni Mubarak's party.