Egypt has arrested two members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood for allegedly planning attacks against American and Israeli targets in Egypt with Hamas.
Egyptian officials said Abdel Hay Al Faramawi and Mohamed Wahdan were arrested last week in connection with the Palestinian Islamic party’s alleged plan to build small unmanned aircrafts loaded with explosives.
Further details of the arrests and subsequent detentions were not available, although officials said during questioning, the two Brotherhood members apparently told questioners that two Palestinians were also involved in the plot.
The arrest followed an Egyptian military tribunal’s conviction of 25 members of the banned group for financing a banned organisation. They received sentences of up to 10 years in prison.
On the opposition group’s web site, the Muslim Brotherhood denied the charges, arguing that the government was using the pretext as a means of cracking down on the strong organisation to stir fear in the members.
“The charges are pure lies intended to tarnish the image of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood,” Gamal Tageldine, Faramawy’s lawyer, said on the website, alleging that the charges are a way to clampdown on the group’s members.
The Muslim Brotherhood has experienced wide-spread crackdowns from the government since the organisation gained almost one quarter of seats in parliament.
