Cairo, Egypt - Egyptian authorities on Thursday arrested 45 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, bringing to 124 the number of Islamists detained since the start of the week, a security source said.
The Brothers were arrested around the country for using religious slogans as part of their campaign ahead of this month's elections for parliament's upper house. Such campaigning is banned by the Egyptian constitution.
Brotherhood spokesman Issam al-Aryan told AFP that 646 members have been arrested during a two-week clampdown and remain in detention, although Egyptian security services did not confirm the figure.
"The government is using unfair means to eliminate candidates" ahead of the vote, Aryan said.
The Brotherhood, which is banned but usually tolerated, controls around a fifth of seats in parliament where its members sit as independents.
Constitutional amendments passed in March ban the use of religion in any political activity.
On Monday, 12 members of the Islamist group were detained for hanging posters bearing religious messages, including the Brotherhood slogan "Islam is the solution."
Elections for two-thirds of the seats in the 264-member Shura Council will be held in two rounds, on June 11 and June 18. The remaining seats in the purely consultative council are filled by presidential appointment.
On Tuesday, Council Speaker Safwat Al-Sherif asked the Higher Election Commission to remove the names of 17 candidates from the ballot because of their affiliation to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
International rights groups have criticised Egypt for using military courts to try members of the Brotherhood.