30 May 2009, 10:00
Egypt: detained Caucasians complain of bad conditions in SIZO
On May 29, special agencies of Egypt conducted a special operation, during which 198 Russian citizens were arrested; most of them are students from Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan. Russia's Embassy in Cairo has confirmed arrest of 35 students. The detainees complain of poor custody conditions in local pre-trial prison (SIZO).
One of them said that it is very stuffy in the facility; many of them have to nestle on the floor. Every sell is stuffed with up to 50 persons; they lack water and food. Besides, some inmates need medical aid. According to some sources, one of the detained students had a claustrophobia attack, as the ITAR-TASS reports.
Student Asvat Khalikhanov, who was released after he presented his passport, said that detentions were made without any grounds. "Policemen rushed into the campus at about one o'clock at night and arrested mainly students from Northern Caucasus," the "Dni.Ru" quotes the student.
Cairo houses the main religious university in Egypt - the Al-Azkhar Spiritual Academy. Russian students either study there or arrived for probation training from various Russian religious schools. The Russian Ministry for Education and Sciences asserts that the students had got there without involvement of any Russian educational establishments.
