Analysts expect the National Democratic Party (NDP) to tighten its grip on parliament in Sunday’s vote, further weakening the Brotherhood.
One day before Egypt’s Parliamentary polls, Alexandria court sentenced 12 Muslim Brotherhood members to two years in prison for election campaigning for the banned party, a judicial official said on Saturday.
The Alexandria criminal court reached its verdict in a hearing on Friday, the official said.
The activists were arrested as part of a crackdown against the opposition group that has seen at least 1,000 of its supporters detained in the past two months and more than a dozen candidates disqualified.
The 12 were “found guilty” of taking part in demonstrations and campaigning for the Brotherhood “with leaflets that contained religious slogans,” the official said.
Religious parties are prohibited in Egypt and candidates for Sunday's election are not allowed to use religious slogans in their campaigns.
Analysts expect the National Democratic Party (NDP) to tighten its grip on parliament in Sunday's vote, further weakening the Brotherhood, which has 130 candidates for 508 seats left in the race.
Rights groups say the election has already been compromised by the arrests of opposition supporters and restrictions on their candidates. The government has pledged that the vote will be “fair.”
The Alexandria criminal court reached its verdict in a hearing on Friday, the official said.
The activists were arrested as part of a crackdown against the opposition group that has seen at least 1,000 of its supporters detained in the past two months and more than a dozen candidates disqualified.
The 12 were “found guilty” of taking part in demonstrations and campaigning for the Brotherhood “with leaflets that contained religious slogans,” the official said.
Religious parties are prohibited in Egypt and candidates for Sunday's election are not allowed to use religious slogans in their campaigns.
Analysts expect the National Democratic Party (NDP) to tighten its grip on parliament in Sunday's vote, further weakening the Brotherhood, which has 130 candidates for 508 seats left in the race.
Rights groups say the election has already been compromised by the arrests of opposition supporters and restrictions on their candidates. The government has pledged that the vote will be “fair.”
