Egypt's security forces have arrested a number of Muslim Brotherhood supporters a day after the organisation was officially declared a terrorist organisation.
Police arrested 16 Brotherhood members in the Nile Delta province of Sharqiya on charges of belonging to a terrorist group.
Another 54 were arrested on accusations they attacked police stations or incited violence.
Interior Ministry spokesman Hani Abdel-Latif said the security forces now had an even freer hand to move against Brotherhood protests.
According to stuff.co.nz, Abdel-Latif said that under the anti-terrorism law, those who participate in Brotherhood protests could face up to five years in prison, and 'those leading this group (the Brotherhood) could be punished by the death penalty'.
In other steps, the Brotherhood's daily newspaper, Freedom and Justice, was suspended after security forces confiscated its Thursday's edition.
To drain the group's resources, the government froze funds of more than 1,000 non-government organisations and charities linked to the Brotherhood.
The government has even put more than 100 schools run by the group under government supervision.
The Brotherhood lashed out at the move, using a sectarian tone.
It said the freezing of the funds aims to 'fight Islam' and opens the door for 'Christian groups to draw poor Muslims away from their religion' by stepping in with charity, the report added.
