Former student union head referred to emergency state security court

Former student union head Ahmed Gaber has been referred to an emergency state security court on charges of belonging to a banned organization, according to lawyer Amany Adel.

Adel told Mada Masr that Gaber’s detention renewal hearing was scheduled for January 1, but when he was not transported to the courthouse the prosecutor told lawyers that the South Zagazig Prosecution had referred him to trial on December 25.

Gaber, the former head of the student union at the Higher Institute for Technology in 10th of Ramadan City, was arrested ahead of the 2017 student elections on December 5, and detained pending investigations. He was indicted on accounts of joining the banned Muslim Brotherhood organization and possession of publications promoting the Brotherhood’s ideas, according to Adel.

As Gaber was leaving the institute with three of his friends, they were blocked by a black passenger vehicle. Three men in civilian outfits emerged and forced him into the car, Adel told Mada Masr in a previous interview. When one of his friends asked the men who they were, they told her that they were government agents.

The police report includes several discrepancies, including a claim that Gaber was arrested from his home, contradicting both the testimonies of his three friends and footage from the surveillance camera on the institute’s gate. The prosecution asked to view the surveillance footage, said Adel. The address mentioned in the report is not that of Gaber’s actual residence.

It is also alleged that the police found political publications in Gaber’s bag, but Adel claims that their size is larger than the bag’s capacity.

On social media Gaber recently encouraged the participation of the institute’s students in the students union elections, which he hoped would help avoid the direct appointment of students close to the institute’s management, Hazem Ibrahim, one of Gaber’s friends and a student at Ain Shams University, told Mada Masr.

Gaber was often critical on his Facebook page of interference by the institute’s management in student activities and the elections process, said Ibrahim.

The institute’s student union released a statement after Gaber’s arrest denouncing the authorities and holding them accountable for his safety. They also demanded his release.

The statement reads: “A black car with the number plate RF298 kidnapped student Ahmed Mohamed Gaber Marwan (Roni), former president of the student union at the High Institute of Technology, in front of the institute gates immediately after the student talent ceremony and took him to an undisclosed location. This comes against the backdrop of his role in exposing violations of the electoral process.”

The dean of the institute had referred Gaber to investigation in October 2016 and filed a complaint against him at the 10th of Ramadan City police station, after Gaber called on the student union, which he headed at the time, to strike in protest against the institute’s alleged financial mismanagement and the banning of some student activities.

Gaber’s arrest preceded student elections in Egypt’ universities, which were held on December 10. The last student elections, in which Gaber was elected, were held in 2015 and saw the pro-government student coalition do poorly, with students associated with the 2011 uprising sweeping a surprising victory. The government has since tightened its grip, and the 2017 elections saw reduced numbers of candidates running and the absence of political groups from unions altogether, both pro-government and oppositional.