CEU MA student Ahmed Samir Santawy was arrested in Cairo on February 1, 2021. On February 6, Ahmed was charged with belonging to a terrorist organization and spreading false news on social media. He is currently remanded in the notorious Tora Prison, without a hearing or any legal representation.
CEU condemns this denial of our student’s right to a fair hearing and calls on the Egyptian authorities to grant Ahmed immediate access to legal counsel and to his family. We have no evidence that would support the charges against Ahmed and call for his immediate release.
We encourage universities and institutes of higher education in Austria, Europe and around the world, as well as students' associations and colleagues everywhere to join us in calling for Ahmed’s immediate release.
April 14, 2021
We, the undersigned 74 organizations, call upon the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release 29-year-old student and researcher Ahmed Samir Santawy, who has been arbitrarily detained since 1 February 2021 on bogus terrorism-related charges. The undersigned organizations further call on the authorities to ensure prompt, independent, impartial, transparent, and effective investigations into Ahmed Samir Santawy’s allegations of being subjected to enforced disappearance and ill-treatment by security forces following his arrest.
April 10, 2021
L'École des hautes études en sciences sociales calls for the immediate release of Ahmed Samir Santawy and all other researchers, and strongly condemns the attacks on freedom of thought, essential to any democratic society. We invite French and European universities to relay this call, as a sign of solidarity with Ahmed Samir Santawy, and to participate in the online event “Global protest: free Ahmed Samir!”.
April 10, 2021
Ahmed Samir, studente della Central European University, è stato arrestato a Il Cairo più di due mesi fa.Ennesimo sopruso del governo egiziano. Basta! Facciamoci sentire!
April 10, 2021
April 9, 2021
We condemn the arrest of Ahmed Samir Santawy , a second year student in the Masters in Sociology / Social Anthropology program at Central European University in Vienna. His research focuses on women's rights and in particular on the history of reproductive rights in Egypt. The detention of Ahmed, which began on 1 February 2021 , severely violates his human rights and is a blatant attack on academic freedom and freedom of expression . We therefore call for Ahmed's immediate and unconditional release .
April 9, 2021
The Global Student Forum condemns the arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of Ahmed Samir Santawy. We join the call for his immediate release and an end to the persecution of students, academics, researchers and activists. Further, we call for the urgent attention of the global community to the ongoing arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and targeting of students by authorities in Egypt.
April 9, 2021
Human Rights Watch has published an in-depth article about Ahmed Samir's detention with the title "Egypt: Scholar Unjustly Detained". You can read the article below or at Human Rights Watch.
April 7, 2021
We must not accept that a young man is illegally detained in Egypt. #free_ahmed_samir https://t.co/8CEUxMJstY— Petra Bayr global (@BayrPetra) April 7, 2021
April 6, 2021
It is over 2 months since Ahmed Samir, CEU master's student in the sociology and anthropology department, was arrested in Egypt. Charged by the Supreme State Security Prosecutor with belonging to and funding a terrorist organization, and spreading false news on social media, Ahmed is currently remanded in Cairo's notorious Liman Tora Prison. The prosecutor is unable to present any evidence to support these charges.
April 1, 2021
Two months have passed since Ahmed Samir Santawy, the Egyptian Masters student at Central European University, was arrested by the Egyptian state security forces in Cairo on February 1st, 2021.
Five days later, Ahmed was charged with belonging to a terrorist organization and spreading false news on social media. On February 23rd, he was further charged with funding a terrorist organization. The prosecutor was unable to specify which terrorist organization or present any evidence to support the charge.