2 Egyptian lawmakers lose their immunity

Parliament on Wednesday stripped two Muslim Brotherhood lawmakers of their immunity as legislators in a move that clears the way for their arrest, a spokesman for the group said.

Sabri Amer and Ragab Abu Zeid were briefly detained last month as part of an ongoing crackdown against Egypt's most powerful opposition group. They were not questioned by prosecutors while in detention and were released the next day.

Twelve other members of the Islamic group were arrested with the two in the northern Nile Delta province of Menoufiya. They were ordered detained for 15 days, pending further investigation, accused of spreading Brotherhood propaganda.

Abu Zeid said the assembly decision was "not legal but political," masterminded by the government to intimidate the Brotherhood's political figures and curb their influence. Speaking outside parliament, he said the Brotherhood was "not scared by this."

Under Egyptian law, legislators often enjoy immunity from prosecution unless the parliament gives clearance for a legal investigation.

"It's very evident that this is a fabricated political case against the Brotherhood," said Hamdi Hassan, a spokesman of the Brotherhood in the parliament. "The authorities could have asked the parliament for a permission to question them, without lifting their immunity. Meanwhile, the immunity of ruling party lawmakers who have committed serious crimes against Egyptians remains intact."

Hassan said that the Brotherhood bloc in parliament, as well as 19 other lawmakers of the ruling National Democratic Party, voted against the motion to strip the two of immunity, but "even the brave can be outnumbered."

"Instead of apologizing for violating the immunity of the lawmakers (in their detention) ... the authorities regrettably went too far this time in unjust treatment," Hassan said.

The Brotherhood has been banned since 1954 but has continued to operate. Its lawmakers, who run as independents, hold 88 seats in the 454-seat parliament.

Wednesday's two lawmakers were the first two members of the group to be stripped of immunity since the 2005 elections.

Since December, the government intensified its crackdown on the Brotherhood, arresting more than 300 members.

A military trial of 40 top figures from the group on terrorism and money-laundering charges began last week under heavy secrecy. Even though an Administrative Court decided in a rare ruling Tuesday that President Hosni Mubarak's order to try the 40 before a military court was not valid, the state appealed the decision on Wednesday.

In related developments, authorities have extended the detentions of Abdel Moneim Mahmoud, a well-known young blogger and journalist, and 18 others, mostly students, for another 15 days, according to their lawyer, Gamal Tag, and police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

They have already been detained for a month.

Local and international human rights groups have condemned the arrests that are part of the crackdown on bloggers, both Islamists and secularists.

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Associated Press writer Omar Sinan contributed to this report.