A protest is planned for Sunday noon in front of the Ministry of Education in solidarity with a high school student who was held without charge for nearly a year after being detained at a protest, abused in custody and then denied a place back at high school following his release.
Ahmed Al-Masry (also known as Ahmed Taha) was arrested at a protest on 28 October 2011 and held until 24 July. During his detention, Al-Masry alleges he was tortured and raped and is currently undergoing psychological therapy.
When he tried to return to school he was told that he no longer can because the decision to suspend him came from the Ministry of Education, not the school.
“I will be going to present a grievance at the ministry tomorrow and the protest will be held at the same time as a form of support for me,” Al-Masry told Daily News Egypt.
“We received a letter of suspension from the school but the lawyers thought he would be allowed back in school since he was in prison,” said Ahmed’s older sister Aya Al-Masry.
Al-Masry said he was suspended for “over absenteeism.” A meeting was held between the Minister of Education Ibrahim Ahmed Ghoneim Deif and student groups regarding Al-Masry’s problem. After the meeting, Al-Masry received a call from the ministry collecting information regarding his arrest and detention.
He was told by the ministry he could return to school but the school said that they want a decision from the minister. Al-Masry is now attempting to get such a decision from the Ministry of Education.
Aya said her brother used to get very good grades and that she had to sacrifice continuing her own education because she wanted him to continue his. She said their father is not getting treatment for Hepatitis C in order to allow Ahmed to continue his schooling.
Aya says her family has lodged complaints with the president regarding Al-Masry’s case. “This is in the name of all students, not just Ahmed… I want a decision for all students who’ve been detained, even if its not to allow them to go back to school but at least to allow them to take their exams.
They are not criminals, they just wanted to free Egypt and to see it as the beast country in the world,” she said. “I hope [President] Morsy meets a delegation of the youth who are the reason behind his success.”
