Detained student’s family requests his temporary release to attend father’s funeral

Detained student Ayman Moussa's family is making a public plea for the Ministry of Interior to allow Moussa to attend his father's funeral on Thursday.

Moussa, a 21-year-old engineering student and athlete at the British University in Cairo, was arrested during the dispersal of a protest on October 6, 2013, in the vicinity of the Supreme Court in Ramses. The protest was organized by opponents of the Sisi administration and was dispersed violently.

Following his father's death on Tuesday, a social media campaign called “Let Ayman bury his father” began and requested Moussa's temporary release to attend the burial on Wednesday.

There was no response from the Interior Ministry, however, by the time of Moussa’s father’s burial on Wednesday at noon. The campaign continues to demand that Moussa be let out to receive condolences on Thursday at the funeral.

Moussa was sentenced along with 62 others to 15 years in prison in September 2014, which he is currently serving at Wadi al-Natrun Prison. Five minors in the case were also sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

The defendants in the case were convicted of killing 32 people in addition to other charges, including possession of weapons and obstruction of traffic.