The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights
PRESS
RELEASE
Security Forces Arrest Students from Ain Shams University |
16 March 1999
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights is deeply alarmed by the arrest of 9 students from Ain Shams University on 15 March 1999. The students, who were arrested inside the university, were referred to the public prosecution on charges of assembling, rioting, threatening public security and order, thuggery and distribution of leaflets. The public prosecution ordered their imprisonment for 15 days pending investigations. The arrested students areMohamed Gameel Rady, Sherif Shalandah, Hany Fawzy, Emad Mubarak, Ahmed Abdel-Rahman Khier, Mohamed Abdel-Meguid, Hend Youseef, Iman Mohamed Hassan, and Ashraf Mohamed Mohamed. In addition, the EOHR learned that the public prosecution summoned another 7 students for questioning Hassan Mahmoud Hassan, Sayed Abdel-Aaty, Khaled Amin El-Kholi and his sister Mona Amin El-Kholi, Mahmoud Mohamed Hanafi, Asma Mostafa, and Sarah Naguib Zaki. Two weeks ago, students of the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams University began a series of protests and sit-ins against a governmental decision to change the conditions for employment in government schools following graduation. The protests spread to other faculties in Ain Shams and later to other universities. On 15 March, the University's security police arrested the above-mentioned students after provoking a clash between them and another group of students. During the clash, the students were also attacked by two forces of the central security forces. Following the arrest, they were taken to the security office at the University and later transferred to the Heliopolis police station. At one a.m. on the following day, 16 March, the public prosecution started questioning the students, which lasted until four a.m. It is worth mentioning that the complaint filed by the students to the EOHR states that both the University and the Government refused to open any channels of dialogue with them. Moreover, all throughout their protests the University has been surrounded by large numbers of security forces. The EOHR is seriously concerned about the attack on the University, and about the arrests and serious charges raised against the students. The EOHR urges the authorities to promptly release them, and to respect their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression as stipulated by the Egyptian Constitution and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by the Egyptian Government. It also calls upon the authorities to open a dialogue with the students instead of treating them as thugs. Finally, the EOHR calls upon civil society institutions to take prompt and practical steps for the release of the arrested students and to show solidarity with them.
