- Human Rights
- December 1, 2007
- 4 minutes read
Hossam Al-Hindi, Helwan Students Prosecution Appearance Postponed
Helwan prosecution postponed seeing Hossam Al-Hindi, a journalist in Al-Dustoor newspaper, and administrator of http://galaba.blogspot.com/, along with 8 other Helwan University students, to Thursday morning.
These arrests took place following a seminar about telecommunications held in the faculty commerce, during which some young men tried to aske questions and deliver comments but the organizers refused but they spoke under the nose of these organizers. This enraged the University President and the students of the security appointed union who, after finishing the seminar, beat students affiliated to Muqawama (Resistance) who intervened in the verbal dispute:
Nagi Kamel – Sherif Mahmoud – Khaled Mohamed – Mostafa Shawqi, who were beaten immediately after the state security appointed student union finished the seminar.
Then, Hossam sought help from the University President and the University Vice Chairman who ignored him, but he followed them amid shouting of the students. Then the University President said to Hossam:” no student is beaten in the university”. After that Hossam identified himself and that he is a journalist at Al-Dustoor newspaper, and the university president took him to his office and the University Vice Chairman wrote the phone number o Hossam Al-Hindi on a piece of paper.
The University chairman met a few students of those who were beaten and they asked him to submit a memo about this incident but he was seemingly gaining time till the students of the appointed union lodge a complaint in a police station. Due to this complaint, police arrested the beaten students leaving Hossam who remained with the university president who said:” these students are moved like puppets by powers from outside the university”.
After a while, Hossam was stunned by state security officers storming into the room to arrest him amid a spate of bad names, including” ( the press is under our shoes- son of a ……and son of a ……etc”.
And he was dragged to a truck which took him to Helwan police station.
The police accused Hossam in the official complaint of being involved in a quarrel and assault. But Hossam insisted that he is a journalist and demanded the police commissioner see Thursday issue of Al-Dostour newspaper because the assault report is published in it including his name.
Khaled Nagmuddin, the leader of the scouting group, accused Hossam Al-Hindi, Nagi Kamel and Khaled Mohamed of stealing his mobile phone and 200 pounds of his money and damaging his glasses, adding insult to injury. It is worth mentioning that this Khaled Nagmuddin has been in the Helwan university for 6 years in continuous failures. Khaled Nagmuddin”s record is full of fabricating many quarrels with students. This was confirmed by lawyer Ahmed Said who said that Khaled Nagmuddin quarreled with him in 2004 in the university under tips from the university guard chiefs.
Khaled Nagmuddin tried to intimidate the students saying in front of lawyers” My grandfather is an advisor to the Interior Minister. I won”t withdraw the case and I know how to avenge myself.”, in a provocative and rude style which shows contempt to Egyptian justice and Egyptian prosecution after he threatened that his grandfather the advisor of the Minister of the Interior will intervene in the case for his sake to put the court rulings under the shoes of the Interior Ministry.
The security allowed mobiles be given to the state security vetted students so that they can phone State Security Police men. The defence team of Hossam Al-Hindi and students affiliated to Muqawama group demanded hearing testimony of the university president, the University Vice Chairman and the guard chief and others to know what has exactly caused the quarrel.