Alexandria Lawyers Accuse Police Of “Attempted Murder”
Two defence lawyers for students arrested during clashes at Alexandria University last week have filed a report accusing the city’s security forces of attempting to murder a student, Reuters’ Aswat Masriya reported on Tuesday.
Mohamed Ramadan, one of the lawyers, told Aswat Masriya that “there is a video recording that shows the East Alexandria security commandant firing birdshot at student protesters.”
Ramadan is defending 16 students arrested in connection to the violence which took place at Alexandria University on 14 October. He said all 16 defendants were “randomly arrested” from the scene of the violence, denying that any of them have political affiliations.
Alexandria’s security director, Ezz El-Din Amin, denied Ramadan’s accusations, insisting security forces “did not use birdshot while dealing with the students.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard of such accusations. I did not see the video and nobody has informed me of it,” Amin said in a phone interview with Aswat Masriya.
A student at the university was reported dead on Tuesday morning due to wounds sustained during last week’s on-campus violence.
Omar Abdel-Wahab, a sophomore at the university’s faculty of law, was admitted to the university hospital following his injury last Tuesday. He is the first student to die as a result of on-campus violence in the current academic year, which started on 11 October.
University campuses witnessed unprecedented violence throughout the past academic year, with at least 16 students killed in on-campus protests, according to the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression’s Student Observatory.
Students Against the Coup – a group formed after the removal of president Mohamed Morsi in July of last year – was at the forefront of the student protests and has called for renewed protests this academic year.
Student protests have often devolved into clashes with security forces.
Source : Ahram online
