CAIRO, June 12 (UPI) -- Egyptian authorities Sunday released 163 Muslim Brotherhood prisoners after they spent a month in custody for demonstrating without prior permission.
Judicial sources said the prosecution ordered the release of the prisoners, mostly university students, without pressing charges.
The authorities cracked down on members and supporters of the banned Islamic movement early last month after members organized anti-government demonstrations without obtaining prior permission.
Around 1,200 were arrested, 700 of whom were charged with belonging to an illegal group and holding illegal public rallies.
The demonstrations called for democratic reforms and condemned the regime of President Hosni Mubarak as tyrannical and corrupt.
The government has refused demands to legalize the Muslim Brotherhood, citing the constitution bans political parties that are based on religious ideologies.
