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Egypt Detains Muslim Brotherhood Leader Essam El-Erian
BBC NEWS, MIDDLE EAST
October 30, 2013: A fugitive senior Muslim Brotherhood leader, Essam el-Erian, has been detained by the Egyptian authorities. Prosecutors ordered his arrest in July, after the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi. The arrest is the latest move in a government crackdown on the Islamist movement which is now banned.
State-run news agency Mena said Mr Erian was expected to stand trial next week along with Mr Morsi and a dozen other officials. A Muslim Brotherhood spokesman told the BBC Mr Erian was arrested early on Wednesday at an apartment in the New Cairo area and taken to an undisclosed location.
A photo circulated by local media was said to show the moment of the arrest - a smiling Mr Erian standing next to two packed bags. "You can't escape your destiny," he was quoted as saying.
Mr Erian is also vice chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood's political wing. The BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo says that before going into hiding, Mr Erian was a very public face of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Judges step down
Mr Morsi is due to stand trial on 4 November, charged with inciting murder and violence in connection with clashes outside the presidential palace in December 2012. The former president's supporters announced on Monday that he had rejected the court's authority.
Separately, the three presiding judges at the trial of Mohammed Badie, the Brotherhood's general guide, and his deputy, Khairat al-Shatir, stepped down on Tuesday, halting proceedings. Judge Mohammed Fahmy al-Qarmuty said he and his colleagues were retiring from the case for "reasons of conscience". Mr Badie was a prominent figure at the Brotherhood's protest camps in Cairo, but went into hiding as the military-backed interim government increased its efforts to end the protests. He was arrested in August. Mr Badie and Mr Shatir face charges of inciting violence and murder over the deaths of anti-Brotherhood protesters outside the movement's headquarters in Cairo on 30 June.
