CAIRO (AP) – Egyptian authorities are increasingly harassing foreign academics with restrictions, bans on entering the country and deportations. Particularly targeted are those researching anything related to Egypt’s “revolution” or social issues like organized labor – the Ph.D. topic of an Italian student recently killed under mysterious circumstances.
The case of Giulio Regeni has only deepened worries among academics that they are being caught up in a crackdown that Egypt’s government has waged the past two years against dissent. Regeni disappeared on the fifth anniversary of Egypt’s Jan. 25, 2011 uprising, and his body turned up days later with marks of torture.
Egypt’s Interior Ministry has denied security forces were involved in his death and said he was never detained by police.
Academics say the past years of harassment show how sensitive research work is in the eyes of authorities – especially amid a public atmosphere where foreigners are depicted in the media as spies or agents stirring up turmoil.
Amy Austin Holmes, a professor of sociology at the American University in Cairo, knows several foreign colleagues who have been arrested or barred from entering Egypt because of their work. Most, she said, keep quiet to avoid antagonizing authorities.