JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — The pending release of three U.S. students arrested during protests in Egypt is the best Thanksgiving gift possible, the mother of one of the young men said Thursday. Joy Sweeney said the consul general confirmed Thursday morning that her 19-year-old son, Derrik Sweeney, will be released. "I was elated, I was absolutely elated," Sweeney told The Associated Press. "I can't wait to give him a huge hug and tell him how much I love him." Derrik Sweeney was arrested during protests Sunday near Tahrir Square in Cairo. Also arrested were Luke Gates, 21, and Gregory Porter, 19. An Egyptian official has said the three were on the roof of a university building throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters near Tahrir Square. Joy Sweeney said she hoped her son would leave Egypt on Friday, but that this depended on how quickly he could find his passport in his dorm room. Sweeney said she had not prepared for a Thanksgiving celebration and that the idea of a holiday feast had seemed "absolutely irrelevant" before the news of her son's pending release. She said she thought her son would make something useful of his experience. "I'm sure that he'll put a life-lesson learning experience into a positive story," Sweeney said.
