(Photo by Adham Youssef\File)
A Cairo University student died Saturday from injuries sustained in April during campus clashes between students and security officials employed by the institution.
Anas El-Mahdy, a second year student at the Faculty of Physical Therapy, fell in to a coma after suffering a head injury during the clashes on 19 April.
The 21-year-old was transferred to Qasr El-Eini emergency hospital following the violence, and remained in a coma for 27 days, until his death in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Clashes broke out between campus security and pro-Morsi protesters, including Students Against the Coup (SAC), after demonstrations calling for the release of their colleagues detained on protesting-related charges.
Footage of the clashes shows violent scenes, with un-uniformed men with weapons, including electric batons and knives, fighting alongside the campus security, and severely beating students. Cairo University has employed Falcon private security firm to police its campus.
Since the events, El-Mahdy’s brother Abdullah has often used his Facbook page to ask people to pray for Anas and his family. He announced the news early Saturday morning with the status “Now, my brother is dead”, and later posting the location of the funeral.
On their website, the Freedom and Justice Party paid tribute to El-Mahdy, referring to him as a SAC leader, and saying his death was due to a brain haemorrhage caused by “thugs hired by the university administration”.
The Ministry of Interior announced at the time that it arrested 13 pro-Morsi protesters in the clashes at Cairo University, and referred them to prosecution for rioting and violence. Those arrested, included Yahia Mahmoud El-Ghozlan, the son of leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood Mahmoud Ghozlan, and a Faculty of Commerce student.
