20100208
press tv

Egyptian authorities have detained thirteen members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, including three senior leaders.

The organization's newly elected deputy leader, Mahmoud Ezzat, and two other members of the top-level Guidance Council, Essam el-Erian and Abdul-Rahman el-Bir, were arrested Monday in a an early morning sweep.

Ten other members were also arrested in various parts of Egypt, the group's lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maksud said, citing initial reports.

There was no immediate official confirmation of the report.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood party, which has been banned as an organization since 1954, run in elections as independents.

Despite all the limitations, the Party holds a fifth of the seats in Egypt's parliament and represents the largest bloc in the parliament after the ruling party, headed by President Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian authorities frequently crack down on the Brotherhood movement in an attempt to silence the opposition.