Students Against the Coup call for protest in Tahrir Square Friday

Students Against the Coup at Al-Azhar University have called for a protest to converge on Tahrir Square on Friday, January 3.

“Friday will be the day when all of Egypt’s free students will gather to shake the thrones of the oppressors,” a statement said on the group’s Facebook page.

“We declared the date to make it historic,” it continued, adding that the protest’s start time and location will be decided shortly before it begins. This was seen as a move to avoid intervention by security forces.

Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have been prevented from entering Tahrir Square since the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi in July. Students Against the Coup, with branches on several university campuses, has called for Morsi’s reinstatement.

Hesham Abdel Hamid, who heads the autopsy unit at the Forensics Authority, reported that four students at Al-Azhar University have died since the beginning of the clashes, the state-owned news portal Ahram Gate said on Thursday. He added that all of those killed died after being struck by bird shot, most of them having been shot in the head and chest.

The names of the victims are Talaat Mohamed Saad, 20, shot twice in the chest; Khaled Mohamed Mahmoud al-Haddad, 20, shot in the chest and arm; Eslam Osama Ahmed, 19, shot in the chest; and Abdel Ghani Mohamed Hamouda, 20, shot twice in the chest and in the neck.

The final report will be sent to the general prosecution within the coming few hours, Ahram Gate reported.

On December 20, the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters banned student protests on university campuses, unless authorized by university presidents.