Egypt to release Muslim Brotherhood leaders

CAIRO — Two senior leaders of the Egyptian opposition Muslim Brotherhood are to be released on Wednesday after nearly six years behind bars, their lawyer told AFP.

Khairat al-Shater -- the Islamist group's number three and one of its main financiers -- and businessman Hassan Malek were detained in 2006 and sentenced to seven years in 2008.

"The security services informed the Muslim Brotherhood that there has been an order for their release. They will be released within hours," Abdelmoneim Abdel Maqsud said.

The two were part of a larger group tried in a military court on charges of money laundering and terrorism.

The government at the time said it was trying to dismantle the opposition movement's financial network.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the country's largest and most organized opposition, but it operated illegally until the resignation of president Hosni Mubarak on February 11 after nearly three weeks of anti-regime protests.

Before stepping down, Mubarak handed power to a military council which has vowed to pave the way for a free and democratic system.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood have since come out of the fold, and one of their members now sits on a panel charged with overseeing constitutional amendments.

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