Two Al Fayyum University Students Detained For 15 More Days

The Higher State Security Prosecution ordered last Wednesday the jail of students Abd Al-Rahman Rajab Arafa, a fourth year student at the College of Specific Education – and student Hisham Mohsen Mohamed Abdul Rahman- a fourth year student at the Faculty of Engineering – Al Fayyum university, prolonged for fifteen more days.
 
The university guard prevented at 10.30AM on Wednesday Sep, 19th, 2007 Abd Al-Rahman Ragab from entering university and held a body search on him and called for the state security forces that arrested him in a grey car plates no. 22966 Cairo and took him to Al Fayyum police station where a complaint was introduced and he appeared before the prosecution that ordered him jailed for fifteen days that ended on last Wednesday but his detention was prolonged.
 
The Higher State Security Prosecution”s decision obliges both students to spend Al-Fitr Feast (Lesser Bairam) in a provisional detention under claims of protecting security in the country.
 
For his part, Dr. Ahemed Mohsen (Hisham”s brother) said:” I won”t comment on the prosecution”s decision except if the detention of my brother and Abd Al-Rahman is prolonged again in a case whose only charges are lectures schedule, a notebook and some leaflets containing remembrance of Allah. I will also wait for the prosecution”s decision against both policemen who tortured a citizen to death. This decision aims actually to intimidate all university students so as to be good citizens who fear security. This won”t happen.
 
Eid Sayyed, the lawyer of the students, said that the provisional detention shouldn”t be used for persecuting and oppressing citizens. It actually aims to prevent the accused from demolishing evidence or having an influence over witnesses. Regarding the case of these students, there is no crime and there is no evidence against them. Thus, there is no reason for holding them in a provisional detention.
 
On the other hand, Al Fayyum court of first instance witnessed the attendance of the other six detained students to submit appeals against their detention. But the court rejected them.