A Muslim Brotherhood candidate for the upcoming municipal elections was beaten by a mob when he attempted to register for the local polls, scheduled for April. The leading opposition group has accused the government of being responsible for the attack, the group’s web site said. According to reports, at least one man was taken to the hospital and a few others suffered bruises in the mob action. The Egyptian government often employ plain-clothes policemen at demonstrations throughout the country where violence often ensues. During the 2005 parliamentary elections, after the Brotherhood won a surprise victory on the first day of voting, the government allegedly used similar tactics to intimidate Brotherhood supporters and its candidates. In the violence that followed, several people were killed, dozens wounded and many more arrested. Egyptian government denied any involvement in such attacks against the Islamic group, although in recent weeks, hundreds of the group’s members have been arrested by security forces as the government attempted to deter the group from participating in the local elections next month. The group’s leader, Supreme Guide Mehdi Akef, said last month the continued arrest of the organisation’s members will not “deter us [the Brotherhood] from participating in the April vote.” Currently, Brotherhood members of parliament, who are technically independent, due to the group being officially banned in the country, hold almost one quarter of the seats in the North African nation’s parliament. Panapress
