Egypt: Generation Jail

 Egypt is going through dangerous times these days, we have Hamas threatening alongside with ISIS in Sinai, we have advanced weapons smuggled from Libya to arm ISIS and we have the Muslim brotherhood from within the country, I totally understand that the Egyptian regime has to be tough in order to keep the country stable and safe from terrorists but I urge president Sisi to reconsider his policies regarding the youth of Egypt and make the government be more patient with our youth.

The most valuable resource that a country can use for its survival and advancement among other nations is with no doubt its youth, simply because they are the future leaders and they represent the backbone of their country.

 

Egypt’s population is nearly 90 million people and almost 40% of the population are under the age of 25, that means more than 43 million of Egyptians are under the age of 25 which makes them a very great asset for Egypt’s future.

www.indexmundi.com/egypt/age_structure.html

According to the annual report that was released on July 7th by Association for Freedom of Thoughts and Expression (AFTE), it reported a total of 1,552 violations against 761 Egyptian students within the last academic year.

 

These violations includes detention, cancelling student activities on university campuses, expulsion of 286 students and even killing three students inside the university campus by the security forces.

 

The violations also targeted faculty members and researchers have also been subjected to intervention by university administrations and the Ministry of Higher Education which naturally tampered with and hindered their work.

Such instances of abuse against academics included the denial of al-Azhar University administration a researcher of his doctoral degree after he referred to the events of June 30 as a military coup.

Security forces surrounding Cairo university
Security forces surrounding Cairo university

The Egyptian human rights groups documented and reported a very increasing rate in forced disappearances of students and activists over the past 3 months by the security forces.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/in-egypt-activists-document-a-surge-of-forced-disappearances/2015/06/12/75274570-0dff-11e5-a0fe-dccfea4653ee_story.html

Even the children were subjected to many violations by the government, according to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has said in a report that the arbitrary detention of minors by the Egyptian regime is "systematic and widespread."

According to the UN working group, 3,200 children have been arrested since the end of June 2013, when the military ousted the Muslim brotherhood. The UN claims that minors have been tortured inside state detention centres. Around 800 children are still in prison till this very day.

"These minors are subject to ill treatment, including physical torture and sexual violence," the report points out. "They are prevented from having any visits.”

www.icfr.info/en/

Nicholas Piachaud, Amnesty International’s researcher on Egypt, told The Independent that: “the authorities have ruthlessly settled the score with the youth that challenged them in January 2011. Now they are making sure that no new generation rises in their place.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/1552-violations-recorded-against-students-in-egypt-in-last-academic-year-says-report-10384818.html