Students acquitted after 9-month detention

Jihad Abaza
2 Min Read

The Nasr City Misdemeanor Court acquitted seven students of Al-Azhar University on Wednesday, state-owned Al-Ahram reported.

The students were accused of damaging university property. Security forces had arrested the students on charges of burning a building on campus, after receiving reports of a fire, according to Al-Ahram.

The students have been detained for over nine months.

Among the detainees is Sara Khaled, an Al-Azhar student who was arrested on campus for holding a pin with the Rabaa symbol on it, said Freedom for the Brave, an initiative that provides support for detainees.

Whilst detained in the female Al-Qanater prison, Khaled was beaten and tortured.

According to Freedom for the Brave, Khaled had a nervous breakdown during one of her trials and asked for someone to “save her from what she is exposed to”.

“Lifting injustice is not justice,” the Freedom for the Brave initiative wrote on their official page in response to the acquittal.

Since the military ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi, Al-Azhar University campus has been a side of clashes between security forces and students.

Security forces detained dozens of killed at least 16 students at university campuses, including A-Azhar, over the past academic year, according to the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression.

Over 50 detained Al-Azhar students are currently on hunger-strike demanding freedom.

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Jihad Abaza is a journalist and photographer based in Cairo. Personal website: www.abaza.photo