On Tuesday, Egyptian rights organisation Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) published its annual report on university students for the academic year 2014/15.
According to the report, a total of 1,552 violations were documented against 761 students who have been arrested during the last academic year, most of whom belong to activist group Students Against the Coup (SAC).
“The security crackdown has intensified against students in an attempt to stifle the public space inside universities and repress any oppositional student movement, whether Students Against the Coup or other more limited movements,” the report stated.
According to the report, three students were killed during the academic year, while 761 students were arrested and 523 students were punished with disciplinary actions by the university administrations without appearing before a fair disciplinary council.
The report documented other violations committed by security forces and university administrations against students, including administrative detention, physical assault, dispersing protests, the cancelling of activities of a political nature and storming of the campus.
The report also noted instances of interference in the work of faculty members and academic researchers by university administrations and the Ministry of Higher Education.
Among the reported incidents was the prevention of a researcher from Al-Azhar University from attaining his doctoral degree as a result of him describing the events of 30 June as a military coup.