January 30, 2011
Around 34 members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), including leaders Essam el-Aryan and Saad el-Katatni, walked out of Wadi Natrun prison north of Cairo unhindered Jan. 30 after guards abandoned their posts during anti-government protests, a lawyer for one of the escapees said in an interview with AFP, Reuters reported. The escapees had been arrested Jan. 27 for their participation in the protests. A security source told AFP that several thousand inmates overwhelmed the guards during the night of Jan. 29. However, MB leader Mohammed Mursi told Al Jazeera that the members of his group did not escape as the doors of the prison were opened by the residents.
