Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Jordanian authorities have arrested a senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group spokesman said Monday.

"Brotherhood's Shura Council member Mohamed Saeed Bakri has been arrested," Brotherhood spokesman Murad al-Adayla told Anadolu Agency.

He linked the detention to speeches Bakri had delivered in support of the Gaza Strip during a recent Israeli military offensive on the Palestinian enclave.

According to the spokesman, Brotherhood members will communicate with Jordanian authorities to know the reason of the detention.

There has been no comment from Jordanian authorities.

Bakri had been critical of the official Jordanian stance on the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, which killed at least 2,157 people and injured nearly 11,000 others.

Bakri's brother said that the Brotherhood leader faces charges of incitement against Jordanian authorities.

However, the deputy secretary-general of the Islamic Action Front, the Brotherhood's political arm, ruled out that the detention signals the start of a crackdown on the Islamist movement.

"Conditions are no suitable for such campaigns," Ali Abu al-Sokar told AA.

Last month, Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour denied reports about planning to ban the Muslim Brotherhood in the Hashemite kingdom.

*World Bulletin