CAIRO: The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression condemned security intervention from the military or the disbanded state security forces in universities, following a military crackdown on veterinary medical school students in Mansoura University last week. "This violates the students' freedom and the sanctity of the university and takes us back to [the days] of the former regime," a group's statement published Tuesday said. The statement relayed the events that took place during the crackdown last Wednesday to end the students' three-month sit-in on campus. It recounted how a few students were summoned by one of the military officers securing the campus during their Taraweeh prayers, special evening prayers held throughout Ramadan. When the students went to the officer, 35 military officers tore down their tents, allegedly in response to a complaint filed by female employees at the university, accusing the protesters of sexual harassment. The students had started their open sit-in last April, when the administration refused to respond to demands related to developing the education system. The statement added that the faculty dean and two professors insulted the students during the sit-in, pushing the students to file a complaint to the former Minister of Higher Education, Amr Salama. Salama started an investigation into the incident, which ended with referring the university dean to a disciplinary committee. However, Mansoura University President Ahmed Shehab El-Din, simply issued a warning to the dean, infuriating students who continued their sit-in now demanding that he be sacked. The statement also referred to the military crackdown on the open sit-in that was held by mass communications students at Cairo University in March. "This is not the first time students' demands are treated this way," the statement read. The association criticized the Supreme Council of the Armed Forced (SCAF) and the government for not following through with their promise to change university heads before the end of the year. It also put into question the status of freedom of expression behind university walls following the January 25 uprising. "These students didn't violate university laws," the statement said. "They were just holding a peaceful sit-in on campus to push for their legitimate rights." These rights include objecting to the policies of the university and the dean, who they describe as a prominent icon of the former regime, the statement said.
