- April 28, 2007
- 40 minutes read
20 Free Union Students To Disciplinary Board In Violation To Students’ Union Right
The Freedom of Thought and Expression Foundation condemned, on Wednesday, the decision of the dean of the veterinary medicine faculty, Cairo University, of referring twenty students to disciplinary board because of participating in the Free Student Union elections; this union is parallel to the official union whose members are mostly appoint by the administration after striking off all students with various ideological and political affiliations.
A disciplinary board was held upon the faculty dean”s decision no. 87 of the year 2007 on 22/4/2007 of referring 20 students charged of committing actions that violate university regulations and traditions. The lawyer of the Freedom of Thought and Expression Foundation accompanied the sixteen students where were accused of:-
1- Joining the (outlawed) free student union.
2- Violating university bylaws and regulations through nominating yourselves in the elections of the (outlawed) free student union.
It is worth mentioning that the veterinary medicine faculty issued a decision in May 2006 of denying 18 students access to exams of some subjects under allegations that they committed actions that violate regulations; however, the Administrative Court in the State Court issued a ruling of canceling the decision of the disciplinary boards and the investigations that the faculty board carried out on June, 16th, 2006 session.
The foundation expressed its worry over the increasing number of disciplinary boards in universities since early this year, and using them to intimidate students and to prevent them from exercising any political or student activity inside universities.
The foundation confirmed also that these exercises are a flagrant violation to the international covenants concerned with academic freedom; The Lima Declaration on Academic Freedom and Autonomy of Institutions of Higher Education confirmed that “States are under an obligation to respect and to ensure to all members of the academic community. those civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights recognized in the United Nations Covenants on Human Rights. Every member of the academic community shall enjoy, in particular, freedom of thought, conscience, religion, expression, assembly, and association as well as the right to liberty and security of person and liberty of movement. “
Also, the comment no. 13 issued by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in paragraph 38 : “In the light of its examination of numerous States parties” reports, the Committee has formed the view that the right to education can only be enjoyed if accompanied by the academic freedom of staff and students.”
The foundation declares its outright rejection to using university regulations as a political weapon against student activities that oppose policies of the ruling party because this is a bias to a specific political party.
The following is a table of the names of students referred to disciplinary boards:
Name | Academic Year | Age |
Mohamed Fawzi Ali | First year | 18 years |
Mohamed Al Mahdi Abdul Hamid | Fourth year | 21 years |
Ahmed Gharib Abdul Alim | Third year | 19 years |
Bahaa Ahmed Abdul Rahman | Fifth year | 21 years |
Gamal Mostafa Mohamed | Third year | 20 years |
Maher Mohamed Taher | Second year | 19 years |
Hamada Fathi Mohamed Said | Fifth year | 22 years |
Ahmed Mahmoud Mohamed Hussein | Second year | 19 years |
Hani Mohamed Mahdi Mohamed I | First year | 18 years |
Hazem Mohamed Ibrahim Mostafa | Fifth year | 22 years |
Rabie Ismail Sayed | Fifth year | 23 years |
Ahmed Abdul Fadil Hamed | Second year | 18 years |
Ali Magdi Ali Ibrahim | First year | 18 years |
Ahmed Naim Abdul Rahman Al Sharqawi | Third year | 21 years |
Ahmed Heidar Mohamed Al-Gammal | Third year | 20 years |
Ahmed Rashad Abdul Samie | Fourth year | 21 years |
Mohamed Osama Al Sayed | ||
Hadi Ahmed Salah Zaid | ||
Mohamed Hatem Abdul Hamid |