Egyptian universities suspend 18 anti-coup students in three days

The number of students who have been expelled from Egyptian universities during the last three days has risen to 18, according to official sources.

Jamal Abu Al-Magd, acting president of Minia University, suspended six student members of Students Against the Coup for three weeks. The moment opposes the current rule of Egypt.

In a press statement today, Abu Al-Magd said the university administration decided to suspend the students who are enrolled in the Faculty of Science after investigations conducted by the General Department of Legal Affairs after they participated in demonstrations.

The president of the university explained: “The university will not allow any disruption to the educational process, and will firmly face everyone involved in or who instigates or sympathises with any call for riots and vandalism at the university.”

The decision to suspend the students comes a day after the acting head of the University of Alexandria Rushdi Zahran’s decision to suspend seven students after the Department of Legal Affairs found that they had been involved in riots, disrupting studies. Their participation in demonstrations and riots was confirmed from video footage and pictures taken during the events, Zahran said.

Two days ago, Al-Azhar University announced that it had expelled five students in accordance with the law, which President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi recently ratified. The law states that any student found to be participating in demonstrations, riots or damaging any university institution – whether in writing, vandalism or destruction – must be suspended or expelled.

Safwan Abdul Rahman, a spokesman for Students Against the Coup in Alexandria, told the Anadolu Agency: “There is a fierce attack against students who oppose the rule, even though they are demonstrating in a peaceful manner. However, repressive measures are continually being used, expulsion at times and arrests and killings at other times.”

“Suspension will not deter students who are demonstrating in a peaceful manner against this repression. Students have the right to a free university life which is not repressed.”

Since the start of the new academic year on October 11, there have been violent clashes students who oppose the Egyptian government and the authorities, and the security forces. This has led to one student being killed while other have been arrested or injured.