Canadian and Quebec Students stand behind Egyptian Students in their struggle for Human Rights

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We, the undersigned student associations and clubs, are following closely the situation in Egypt and the violation of the basic human rights of Egyptian students in universities all over Egypt since the start of the school year there in October.

Universities should be celebrated as a place for debate and dissent. Instead, student activism has been stifled and crushed. The Egyptian authorities have imposed strict security measures on campuses and used excessive force – including shooting tear gas inside buildings and firing shotguns randomly – to put down protests. At least one student in Alexandria died as a result of injuries from shotgun pellets in October, with another 90 students injured and some 200 arrested.

Any use of force in the policing of demonstrations, even when they have turned violent or are regarded by the authorities as illegal, must comply with international law.

We stand in solidarity with Egyptian students' right to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly, and to a campus environment that is free from fear, intimidation and police abuse.

We call on the Canadian Government, civil society and human rights groups to exert all possible pressure on the Egyptian authorities to:

• Drop all charges and immediately and unconditionally release all students arrested solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly.
• Ensure anyone suspected of violence is tried fairly in line with international standards and only on recognizably criminal charges.
• Hold security forces accountable for excessive use of force against protesters and bring those responsible for arbitrary or abusive force to justice.
• Ensure that students are able to exercise the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in a safe environment on university campuses.

Signed by:

University Student Unions

Ryerson University Students' Union	University of Regina Students' Union
University of Victoria Students' Society	Carleton University Graduate Students' Association
University of Toronto Graduate Students' Union Executive Committee	McGill University Post-Graduate Students' Society

Deparment Student Associations

University Student Clubs

Students for Liberty Queen's University	The McGill Daily McGill University	Muslim Students' Association University of Toronto
Muslim Students' Association Queen's University	Muslim Students' Association University of Regina	Muslim Student Association University of Manitoba	Muslim Students Association Simon Fraser University
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights University of Calgary	Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McMaster University	Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights Queen's University	Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights Concordia University
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights Western University