Security continues to interfere in Egyptian Universities Cairo university sends names of candidates to “National Security”

AFTE condemns the flagrant interference by national security authorities – previously known as state security investigations, in internal university affairs as before the 25th of January revolution.

A number of Egyptian newspapers, including El Masry El Youm, El Dostour, El Akhbar, over the past two days published lists of faculty members submitted by Cairo University to security authorities, including the national security authority. The list includes names of candidates for position of deans of faculties and names of electoral constituency. The list contains comments regarding the different candidates as well as notes regarding their activities, classifying them according to three dimensions: their popularity, their agreement or disagreement with the current administration and their political and ideological affiliations. Descriptions included “Muslim Brotherhood”, “Liberal”, “Opposition to current administration”, “Fearful of Brotherhood”, “Member of 9th of March movement”, “Respectable”, “Unpopular”, “No political affiliation”.

Meanwhile General Moataz Abu Shady, secretary general of Cairo university denied any connection with the mentioned reports, stressing that the university administration is not a body to receive any information regarding the elections and that it has not been requested by any authority to prepare reports regarding candidates. He described the published news as an attempt at the defamation of the university administration. However, AFTE confirmed the reports received through its sources have been leaked from inside the university to a number of journalists. Noteworthy is also the fact that all published reports are published in the same format, whether in newspapers or websites.

The published reports confirm the continued security interference in internal university affairs, even after the 25th January revolution and despite claims by security authorities that such interference has stopped, whether in relation to students or faculty members. Throughout the second term of the previous academic year, when strong demands were made by faculty and students alike to lift the hand of security authorities off academic life and while national security continued to deny such interference, still several press reports revealed that the interference continued especially during student union elections.

AFTE confirms its demand for total independence of the universities to ensure an educational environment that fulfils the aspirations of both students and faculties, the hallmark of which is the election of senior academic positions, a cornerstone of democracy elsewhere in the country. Such democracy requires as a condition the non interference by security authorities.

AFTE also stresses that the right to political participation on campus is an essential right for both students and faculty and no authority, security or otherwise, has the right to block the practice of such right.