CAIRO — From within the confines of Egyptian jails, a group of young Muslim Brotherhood members arrested for political and criminal reasons launched an initiative Aug. 11 to resolve their stalemate with the Egyptian authorities. They issued written statements headlined “A letter from arrested young people to Muslim Brotherhood leaders.” 

In their letter, they called on the current Brotherhood leaders to cede their place to those who are more competent in leading the group’s affairs, to find a quick solution to the prisoners' case, take decisive action for mediating with the Egyptian political leadership to get Brotherhood detainees released. 

The letter comes as a former detainee close to the Brotherhood, Omar Hassan, posted Aug. 19 on his Facebook account a suggestion that each pardon seeker pay a sum of money as “bail or ransom or donation to the Tahya Misr Fund” in foreign currency to support the recovery of the Egyptian economy. Hassan, who specified that the Muslim Brotherhood is not linked to his proposal, suggested that each detainee pay $5,000. Tahya Misr, or Long Live Egypt, is a fund that helps pay for social development programs.

The letter was handwritten by a young detainee and signed by 350 detainees in one of Egypt’s prisons, and was approved by 1,350 others in jails across the country. One of the detainees' parents reportedly acquired a copy of the letter during a visit, and it was later leaked to the media through media figures and rights’ activists.