CAIRO: A source close to the three American study abroad students who were arrested in Cairo on Tuesday confirmed to Bikyamasr.com that he aided the three young men in making Molotov cocktails, and subsequently delivering them to Cairo's Tahrir Square. “We made them together to bring to protesters,” confirmed the source, who due to the sensitive nature of the information did not want to be named. The young men put gasoline in water bottles, and then brought them to the square with the intention of bringing them to protesters. However, he affirmed that the students did not throw the Molotov cocktails themselves, nor did they intend to. The three young men, Luke Gates, Greg Porter, and Derrik Sweeney, were accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at the police during the ongoing street battles between police and demonstrators in Tahrir Square. Kevin Sweeney, of Jefferson City, Missouri, told The Associated Press that 19-year-old Sweeney spoke “very briefly” with his mother about 6:30 AM on Wednesday using the phone of the consul general. “He said he was watching from the rooftop and said he was not throwing anything and the next thing you know, they were grabbed by the police forces and hustled off and basically made into a big public display,” Kevin Sweeney said. The three Americans include Luke Gates, Greg Porter, and Derrik Sweeney. They have been arrested on accusations of participating in the ongoing anti-military demonstrations in Tahrir Square. They allegedly picked up Molotov cocktails and hurled them at army personnel. A video broadcast on state television showed the three Americans lined up against a wall with their school ID's, credit cards, and an Indiana driver's license were spread out on a table. American University Cairo President Lisa Anderson confirmed that the young men are students there, and said the university is working closely with the US embassy to free them. The public showing of the three students being arrested allows officials to declare this a “foreign interference” with the domestic revolution. The State Department has urged American citizens to stay away from the ongoing demonstrations in Tahrir. BM
