Muslim Brotherhood 'crucifying opponents of new President,' attacking secular media

Cairo, Aug. 19 (ANI): Radical members of the Muslim Brotherhood are 'crucifying opponents of newly installed President Mohammed Morsi', various media reports have claimed.

"During a recent rampage, Muslim Brotherhood operatives crucified those opposing Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi naked on trees in front of the presidential palace while abusing others," reported WMD, quoting Middle East media.

According to the Daily Mail, Raymond Ibrahim, a fellow with the Middle East Forum and the Investigative Project on Terrorism, told the website: "The crucifixions are the product of who the Middle Eastern media call partisans".

According to the report, the Algemeiner Journal has also backed up the claims and said that several media outlets, including Arab News, Al Khabar News, Dostor Watany, and Egypt Now reported that people were being 'crucified'.

They said that the Muslim Brotherhood supporters were specifically targeting 'secular media', the report added.

A media crackdown in the first month of Mohamed Mursi's rule has raised fears that Egypt 's Islamist president is moving to suppress criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood, the report said.

According to the report, this week, formal accusations by state prosecutors were filed against two journalists, while an issue of the newspaper al-Dostour was confiscated by the state's censorship unit, disappointing those who believed last year's overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak would lead to greater media freedom.

"The Brotherhood's recent actions against the media are harsh and unacceptable and tell us that we are going backwards and that things are managed the same way they were during Mubarak's time," rights activist Gamal Eid said.

According to the report, the Brotherhood has repeatedly denied any intention to censor opinion, saying that it only wants to stop media reports, which might incite violence or unrest, or which personally insult the president. (ANI)