clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Qatari students banned from entering Egypt

September 20, 2017 at 2:29 am

Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt on 1st July 2011 [Daniel Mayer/Wikipedia]

The Egyptian authorities have banned the Qatari students seeking to complete their university degree from entering the country.

The students told Qatar’s Al-Sharq newspaper that the Egyptian universities have prevented them from submitting postponement requests for the current semester or getting official documents that prove the earned credit hours for the academic courses they studied.

A number of the banned students had submitted complaints to the universities’ Compensation Commission.

Read More: UK Defence Minister: Qatar offered great support to defeat Daesh

“I was surprised to find myself banned from travelling to Egypt,” Hamad Al-Qahtani, a Qatai student who studies law at Egypt’s Benha University, told the newspaper, adding that “I couldn’t obtain an Egyptian visa for completing my higher education degree.”

Al-Qahtani noted that he was informed of the travel ban by the Qatari foreign ministry. He added that the ban was also imposed on eight of his friends who are studying at Benha and Cairo universities.

The Qatari student pointed out that he had reported to the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education, but they didn’t respond to him.

Read More: Egypt to increase taxes on electricity, water

On 5 June, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Doha accusing it of “supporting terrorism”. Qatar denies the charges, claiming the dispute is an attack on its sovereignty.

Last month, the Egyptian government issued instructions to the pro-blockade newspapers to boycott the Vodafone telecom provider after its Qatar branch changed its name to Tamim Al- Majd Company. Vodafone Egypt has denied its involvement in the decision.

In a similar context, the Egyptian authorities recently cancelled the contract between the Qatari sports TV network, beIN Sports, and the Egyptian satellite channel CNE.