Egyptian students declare week of action

Egyptian student groups have announced a week of campaigning against repression on campus. “Black Week for Universities”, from 4 to 8 May, will be marked by protests against violation of rights at universities and by calls on the government to ensure that detained students are able to take their exams on time. Student bodies including…

Court backs police return to campuses

Egypt’s Court for Urgent Matters has ruled (24 February) that police officers can be redeployed permanently on all university campuses. In 2010 police were banned from campuses by the High Administrative Court. In November 2013, the interim government issued a law allowing security forces to enter campuses to maintain the peace without permission from university…

Amnesty International wants “immediate action” on Egypt

Amnesty International has written to the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council requesting “immediate action” on widespread and severe abuses of human rights in Egypt. In a new report (14 February 2014) Amnesty says: “State institutions [in Egypt] meant to provide protection against human rights violations and remedies have now become tools of…

Report on violent attacks will not go public

The official committee established in Cairo to investigate violence during the period in which army intervention removed President Mohamed Mursi is not entitled to release its findings to the public. The committee was established in December 2013 to examine numerous violent episodes following army intervention and the arrest and imprisonment of Mursi and many others.…

More allegations of torture of political detainees

Members of the April 6 Youth Movement have made further allegations against Egypt’s security agencies, detailing torture against 42 “political detainees” held in a central security camp near Cairo. Mohamed Kamal, one of the officers of the movement, says that despite denials by the Interior Ministry detainees said to be held because of their political…