Cairo University president supports security over academic freedom

Dr Jaber Nassar, the president of Cairo University, has warned that the failure of the private security company hired by the government to limit political dissent at Egypt’s universities could lead to serious consequences, including the suspension of the school year or the return of the police, Alamat Online news reported on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Higher Education recently hired the private security company Falcon, which, according to Egypt’s Mada Masr online newspaper, is owned by prominent former generals and businessmen. Indeed, “Falcon Group is the same security firm that was in charge of safeguarding President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s presidential campaign in 2014.”

Falcon has been tasked to secure the gates of the universities during the current academic year in order to ensure the recent ban on political activities on campus, but many students are objecting to its presence and clashes have broken out between the two parties.

However, Nassar has defended the private security company. Alamat Online quoted him as saying that: “The private security personnel are doing their job in securing the doors of the universities, where they have seized knives and firecrackers from day one.”

The university president also reportedly said that he holds the Muslim Brotherhood responsible for the violent incidents that the universities are currently witnessing, saying that the failure of the new procedures would have serious consequences. He explained, “This may lead to the suspension of the academic year, or even the return of the police forces to the universities, which poses a threat to their independence.”

Over the past few weeks, students and faculty across Egypt have been protesting against the draconian measures Al-Sisi’s regime recently passed restricting academic and other freedoms in Egypt, leading to a further crackdown against dissent.

Human Rights Watch earlier demanded for the Egyptian authorities to release university students who have been detained since the beginning of this school year.

Joe Stork, Human Rights Watch’s Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa, said, “the mass arrest of students is a pre-emptive strike against freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,” adding that, “universities should be safe areas for the exchange of views, including political discussions.”

An article published on Wednesday by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about the recent crackdown on academic freedom in Egypt noted that the on-going student protests “have shone a spotlight on the fact that popular support for President Al-Sisi comes largely from older Egyptians,” pointing out that the banning of student protests shows that the “Egyptian authorities are aware of what might be the Achilles’ heel of Al-Sisi’s regime.”