CAIRO: The authorities released 48 Al-Azhar University students Monday, ending a two-month detention triggered by a military-style parade they performed on campus, said Mohamed Habib, deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). The students are members of the banned-but-tolerated MB group. The arrest was completely wrong and unfair from the start, Habib said, adding that the detainment period affected the academic progress of those students. The general prosecutor announced that the release order was decided upon despite the fact that the investigation provided evidence that these students were enlisted by the Muslim Brotherhood and were following the movement s orders to form militias. Habib believes the release was too late. What did they do to deserve that? All that for holding a martial arts parade? Habib added. Diaa Rashwan, expert on Islamic movements, told The Daily Star Egypt that the release does not signal a change in the government s hostile attitude towards the Muslim Brotherhood. Throughout Mubarak s era no students have ever been tried in court . this is a common stance adopted by the government to show its humane side, Rashwan said. He added that many MB members have been detained and accused of a slew of criminal activities in the past few months to inculcate a public perception that these are the real monsters behind the students. Public prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, who ordered their release, also stated that theses students will have to appear in front of Al-Azhar University s disciplinary committee, sources said. But that's not good news, says Rashwan. The disciplinary committee s punishments are severe. Some of those students may be expelled from the university altogether or at least suspended for three years. The demonstration organized by these MB-affiliated students on Dec. 10 triggered a fierce government backlash. Dozens of the Islamist movement s supporters have since been detained and remain behind bars. The government accuses the Brotherhood of seeking to revive its secret wing and impose a Sharia state, while the Islamist group says the regime simply wants to quell opposition to the proposed constitutional amendments, currently under debate at the People's Assembly. Among the dozens of MB members arrested in recent weeks are some of the movement s top financiers and its third-ranking official, Khayrat Al-Shater. Their cases have been referred to a military tribunal whose verdicts cannot be appealed.
