Students fear for their future

The murder of Italian postgraduate student Giulio Regeni has focused new attention on alleged police brutality in Egypt, while nearly a dozen local students have told Reuters they have been targeted over the past three years and regularly face violence and harassment at the hands of security forces, reports the Kuwait Times.

Rights groups and students say that under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt’s universities have hounded students as a matter of routine, stationing dozens of security forces on campuses, expelling hundreds of students suspected of Islamist leanings, and abusing or torturing many of those they arrest. Some of those arrested admit they support or even belong to the Muslim Brotherhood and have taken part in protests that sometimes turned violent. But often, they say, they were reacting against abuses by the security forces.

Twenty students have been killed by security officials on campuses either while they were protesting or near a protest, according to the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, a non-governmental organisation of lawyers and researchers which says it has correspondents in most universities. Reuters was not able to verify these findings. In addition, the association said, more than 790 students have been arrested, mainly for protesting against the government. At least 89 of those were referred to military tribunals. Some have been sentenced to death or life in prison.
Full report on the Kuwait Times site