Universities under siege

Egyptian students and professors will soon return to universities which are experiencing the lowest levels of academic freedom the country has ever known, writes Emily Crane Linn for Foreign Policy.

In the last academic year alone, 761 students have been arrested and 281 expelled for participating in political activities on campus. A university professor was sentenced to death for “conspiring to undermine Egypt’s national security” after writing articles critical of the regime. Another awaits trial for insulting the judiciary in a critical tweet.

This last year marked a shift away from the open confrontations between students and security forces that marred the 2013-14 academic year. Instead, the state has adopted a more subtle approach: quietly silencing critical academics, narrowing the scope of academic research, and instilling a spirit of fear across campuses.
Full report on the Foreign Policy site