Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

“The brotherhood have become used to these kinds of tyrannical practices from the regime,” said the group's Secretary General Mahmoud Hussein on Sunday, Reuters reported.

Egyptian authorities arrested some 16 members of the group around a week ago as the country gears up for next April's parliamentary vote. Those detained include newly-elected deputy leader, Mahmoud Ezzat, and two other members of the top-level Executive Council, Essam el-Erian and Abdul-Rahman el-Bir.

The group, which holds indirect sway over one-fifth of the seats in parliament, has its members regularly arrested ahead of decisive elections.

"If this indicates anything, it is the bankruptcy of the regime and their inability to deal with the problems that they are facing as a result of the oppression that the various sectors of the society are suffering from,” Hussein added.

"We never talk about personalities, we talk about principles. We want there to be free elections that have integrity. The country should not invest all its resources into one personality or for one candidate, and there should be equal opportunity for all of the candidates.”