Student Rally For Detained Colleague

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Student Rally For Detained Colleague

Faculty and students of the American University in Cairo (AUC) organized a rally Monday to express concern over the detention of fellow student Qassam El-Barghouti, son of detained Fatah secretary and Palestinian Legislative Council member Marawan El-Barghouti, by Israeli authorities.

Qassam, 18, was arrested on December 24th 2003 when crossing the Jordanian border into the Palestinian Authority Areas while attempting to visit his family during the Christmas holidays. He has been charged by a military court with the possession of hand grenades based on a testimony by a prisoner from Nablus. He is currently held at Oufar prison and has not been put on trial.

The rally was confined to within the university grounds due to a heavy police presence outside the gates. University president David Arnold expressed his concern about Qassam's detention and stated that he had met with the Israeli Ambassador to ask for the student to return to his university. University Provost Tim Sullivan said, "We stand behind him to ensure our solidarity. We (the university) must stand together."

Qassam was studying English at the AUC's English Language Institute (ELI). His instructor stated that Qassam was a quiet boy, who didn't want to get involved in anything. Few knew he was Marawan El-Barghouti's son. He had wanted to learn English to get his message across in a non-violent manner. Qassam, his instructor said, had wanted to live as a normal 18 year old. A friend of Qassam states that he never talked about politics.

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Student Rally For Detained Colleague