AhlulBayt News Agency: Egypt has detained several students who were trying to promote pro-Palestinian boycotts and solidarity campaigns, the latest sign that it does not want to leave space for activism over the war in Gaza despite growing official criticism of Israel, according to Reuters.
The students are among dozens of people held in connection with protests against Israel’s military campaign, some of them detained in October when state-sanctioned rallies spilled over to unauthorised sites including Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), an independent Cairo-based group, at least 125 people have been arrested since the Gaza war began in October, 95 of whom are still being held in pre-trial detention on charges including membership of a banned group or spreading false news.
These charges are used in terrorism-related cases, but activists and human rights lawyers say they are also commonly used against detainees in political crackdown campaigns.
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The students are among dozens of people held in connection with protests against Israel’s military campaign, some of them detained in October when state-sanctioned rallies spilled over to unauthorised sites including Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), an independent Cairo-based group, at least 125 people have been arrested since the Gaza war began in October, 95 of whom are still being held in pre-trial detention on charges including membership of a banned group or spreading false news.
These charges are used in terrorism-related cases, but activists and human rights lawyers say they are also commonly used against detainees in political crackdown campaigns.
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