Jailing of students sparks anger, divides academics

An Egyptian court has sentenced Islamist students to prison but the sentencing has angered fellow students and drawn mixed responses from academics.

The Cairo court last week sentenced 12 students who had backed Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to 17 years in prison each after convicting them of “thuggery”, vandalism and illegal possession of weapons.

The students were accused of attacking the Cairo-based headquarters of Al Azhar, Egypt's prestigious Islamic seat of learning in October after its top administrator, Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayyeb, had publicly blessed the army's July toppling of president Mohamed Morsi of the Brotherhood.

The court ordered the students pay a bail of LE65,000 (about US$9,280) each to avoid imprisonment, pending an appeal.

"This ruling is definitely politicised," said Laila Soueif, a professor at the state-run Cairo University. "The penalty is tough. The students cannot also afford to pay the heavy bail until the court decides on their appeals.”

Interviewed by the private newspaper Al Tahrir, Soueif said the court ruling sent a negative message to university students who played a major role in massive protests that led to Morsi's toppling and the removal of his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, in early 2011.

"Those who think that such a verdict will subdue students and force them to fall silent do not know well the youth of this country," Soueif, an advocate of university independence, said. "How come manslaughter is punishable by three years in prison while throwing stones at a building is punishable by 17 years in jail? This is unfair."

Egyptian universities have been rocked by mass protests held by pro-Morsi students since the new academic year started in late September. On several occasions students supporting and opposing the military engaged in clashes on campus, leaving dozens injured.

The army says it responded to a popular wish by deposing Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, citing enormous protests against his one-year-old rule.

The jail sentences against the students have infuriated students of different political leanings in this Middle Eastern country. They have staged large protests in recent days, demanding the verdict be abolished and police release scores of other students detained over pro-Morsi demonstrations.

"The verdict was swiftly issued," said Mohamed Pasha, a student at Cairo University and a member of the liberal Constitution Party. "It is too harsh and politicised. It also provokes students whether they back or oppose Morsi."

The Brotherhood also condemned the ruling, claiming it was aimed at oppressing anti-military students.

Abdullah Sorour, a professor at the state-run University of Alexandria, sees the situation differently. "It is a fair verdict commensurate with the crimes those students committed. The verdict is based on a host of offences, not a single offence," Sorour said. "Any claim that the ruling is politically motivated only aims at distorting the image of the judiciary."

He rejected calls for the students to be granted amnesty. "It is necessary that offenders should be punished to deter others from acting wrongly and getting away with it," he said.