Five students were detained on Tuesday evening after chanting against interim Minister of Defence Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi. They have been charged by the prosecution for belonging to an illegal organisation and for disturbing peace and security, according to lawyers.
The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) reported the arrest of five female students in Nasr City on Tuesday evening.
AFTE lawyer Hassan Azhary said, “on the bus they were chanting against Al-Sisi, saying he was not democratic. A policeman in the street stopped the bus and took the girls to Nasr City police station.” He said that the police at the station filed a report and “sent the girls and the report to the prosecutor.”
Azhary stressed that it is not illegal to chant against Al-Sisi. He added that the prosecutor is under the impression that the students are members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was outlawed as an organisation in September.
The Nasr City prosecution released the students on EGP 500 bail later on Tuesday, according to AFTE.
Security forces launched a crackdown on the Brotherhood since the removal of former president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July. In addition to the organisation being declared illegal, a court ruled that the Brotherhood’s non-governmental organisation be written off earlier in October.
