SECURITY authorities and administrative staff of some universities are allegedly accused of mounting a formidable front against student activists. These accusations, substantiated by a Cairo-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) concerned with freedom of expression and thought, also claimed that university administrative staff would seek the help of 'thugs and villains' to forcefully disband student demonstrations on the university campus. However, it has been unclear whether these villains and thugs referred to are tough pro-government students. These shocking accusations are the conclusions drawn from a survey conducted by the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) that took place in both major and provincial universities across the nation, including Al-Azhar University, the highest and most prestigious seat of religious learning in Egypt and the world. The AFTE claimed that survey results showed that security authorities were given the cue to intervene and arrest demonstrating students. In addition, the suffering of the arrested student activists increased when they were referred to a disciplinary council, which automatically decided to suspend them for weeks or months before being allowed to resume their studies. The AFTE implied that university students loyal to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group were the regular target of this alleged nexus of administrative staff, security authorities and violent outsiders. In its report, excerpts of which were published in the local press, the Association indicated that its fact-finding team came across the student grievances after monitoring student protests which took place in different universities from February 24 to April 23 of this year. According to the AFTE's findings, violence erupted in Alexandria when security authorities, in collaboration with tough members of the student union and the administrative employees, broke up a fund-raising campaign launched by student activists from the Faculty of Arts to finance the purchase of a life-support machine and donate it to the ill-equipped Alexandria University Hospital. The AFTE alleged that the security authorities delayed the arrest of student leaders until the following day. “Homes of ten student protestors were broken into the next day, and four of them were arrested and referred to the Public Prosecution for charges including attacking a government employee on duty, sabotaging public property, and causing disorder in the university,” report findings said. The detainees included students loyal to the protest April 6th Movement. “The arrested students were detained by the Public Prosecutor, who also ordered the arrest of 13 accomplices.” The detention was renewed for 15 days before the detainees were released on March 26,” the AFTE report said. It found that the Faculty of Commerce in Alexandria University was also the battlefield of clashes between student activists and security authorities in the corresponding period. The security authorities were also said to have clashed with students in the provincial Menufia University after the end of an annual event on March 30. Female students were allegedly caned and insulted by riot police. “About 11 students were detained for 15 days on charges including using force against civil servants in the university and policemen,” the Association reported. Similar clashes, it has been alleged, took place at Al-Azhar University, Zagazig University, Ain Shams University, Fayyoum University and the Suez Canal University.
