Authorities release detained AUC student
BY MAHMOUD FATHI
AUC student, Omar Borham was released on bail Wednesday after being detained for 16 days.
Dozens of AUC students held a sit-in on campus prior to his release calling upon the university to issue a statement and take action.
Days after the sit-in staged on campus, students organized another sit-in on Tuesday in front of the court where Borham received a three-year sentence and EGP16,000 bail.
“We were around 20 to 25 individuals,” said Fayez Yaktan, Borham’s friend, adding, “We wanted to enter the hall where the hearing was carried out, but police forces prohibited us from doing so.”
The student will be presented to the court for a second time on Nov. 11.
Collectively, the students who sat in for the sit-ins were able to gather hundreds of signatures in an hour for a petition they intend to submit to the university’s administration.
Two days earlier, students gathered in front of the SSE building at around 1 p.m. to listen to Abdelraouf Hassan, Borham’s cousin and student at AUC, telling the developments of the situation.
Borham was at a security checkpoint near Wadi Degla Club, parallel to the Ring Road, when he was detained, claimed the protestors at the sit-in.
They believe that after passing the checkpoint, Borham left his car to stand in defense of civilians being mistreated by police while getting checked. The clash grew as it attracted others on the street and as a result, Borham was arrested.
Some passersby got dragged in to listen to Borham’s cousin Hassan at the sit-in. Others held banners with claims including, “The Interior Ministry Are Thugs” and “Against Judicial Emergency Arrests.”
“This is a general effort to raise awareness about matters we believe are of critical importance which need to be tackled by the university’s administration,” said Hassan.
He added that Borham was not guilty of the charges he was accused of and that he will remain detained for more than 12 days since the incident, as the court adjourned his trial to Tuesday.
An official at the Egyptian State Security Investigations Service, who chose to remain anonymous for security purposes, told the Caravan that Borham was detained after clashing with police forces during a pro-Morsi march by the Mubarak Police Academy.
“While participation in a march is normal, it is not normal to initiate an attack against any police official,” said the security source.
The AUC administration did not try to communicate with security officials to free Borham, claimed Hassan.
“Upon speaking with a legal secretary at the office, we were told that there were strict orders from the President to not interfere in any case – involving either students or staff – as long as it isn’t on any AUC facility, and that the individual at hand is not representing the institution,” said Hassan, in response to one of the students’ question about the university’s stance.
Hassan had visited the university’s legal office with a representative from the Student Court, Yasmin Hashim, as well as an independent student, Ali Hossam.
Hassan’s words stirred a lot of debate amongst the crowd, some of which recalled the administration’s position in a community-wide e-mail sent from the President’s office, back in 2011 when American AUC students got detained by security forces.
The e-mail then included, “Three of our American study-abroad students were arrested last night. We are in touch with their families and are working with the U.S. Embassy and the Egyptian authorities to ensure that they are safe.”
Hashim told the Caravan that the court contacted the Vice President of Student affairs and notified them that a student had been arrested. However, they received no response.
Salah Yehia, an undeclared Freshman at AUC and a friend of the accused, told the Caravan that he visited Borham at the Public Prosecutor’s office and saw that he had been heavily beaten.
In a follow-up interview with the Caravan, Hassan, the detained’s cousin, expressed his appreciation for the student’s increasing interest in Borham’s case and his wish for students to be heard through an effective ongoing relationship between AUC students and the administration.
By press deadline, Hossam Shafik, an undeclared Freshman and close friend of Borham’s, told the Caravan a meeting was set to take place on Thursday, on campus, to organize a protest in an attempt to get the university’s administration involved in Borham’s case.
“This time, we have the support of the SU and a wider attendance is expected from both students and faculty members that have [become aware about] the case,” he said.
The Caravan contacted AUC’s Office of Legal Affairs but who could not provide an opinion on Borham’s case, saying that it was not in their field of expertise.
