CAIRO
By Mohamed Ammar
The authorities on Wednesday arrested 78 members of the Muslim Brotherhood in different parts of the country for allegedly attacking police stations and "inciting" protests against Egypt's constitutional referendum, currently underway, the Interior Ministry said.
In a statement, the ministry said that 52 members of the Brotherhood, the movement from which ousted president Mohamed Morsi hails, had been arrested in the southern Minya province for "inciting" protests against the referendum.
The alleged incitement, the ministry added, violated Egypt's recently-passed protest law, which criminalizes unauthorized demonstrations and marches.
According to the ministry, police arrested 15 people in the southern Sohag province for inciting protests, attempting to impede balloting, and possessing illegal firearms and fireworks.
Authorities also arrested seven Brotherhood members in the central Fayoum province for allegedly attacking a police station, the ministry statement added.
The ministry went on to say that authorities had also arrested four Brotherhood members in the Qalioubiya province for "planning to incite violence" and "possessing a pistol, five bullets and documents linked to the Brotherhood."
Egyptians on Wednesday cast ballots on the second day of a nationwide referendum on an amended version of Egypt's 2012 constitution. The interim government has taken unprecedented security measures to secure the vote, deploying hundreds of thousands of army personnel and police countrywide.
Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim on Wednesday vowed to react "very violently" to any attempt to obstruct the voting.
"We will respond violently and immediately to anyone who attempts to hamper the referendum by force," Ibrahim said while touring polling stations in eastern Cairo.
On Tuesday, the first day of the vote, police arrested 249 people for allegedly attempting to obstruct balloting in a number of Egyptian provinces.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
