Egypt's top prosecutor has ordered the release of 52 student members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood in time for university exams, a prosecution official says. The students, arrested in a government crackdown sparked by a wave of pro-reform demonstrations, were held for more than two weeks, according to the official at the office of Prosecutor-General Maher Abd al-Wahed.
It was not immediately clear if the students had been released already. On Saturday, police said 77 students from the banned opposition group were freed by the prosecutor-general for the same reason. Separately, Muslim Brotherhood leader Muhammad Mahdi Akef sent a petition to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, complaining of "violations" by state security officers against detained members of the group. The Brotherhood alleged that a political science researcher, Khairy Muhammad Omar, was tortured by state security officers before being released. |