Egypt protests intensify after student death
The killing of a student demonstrator is stoking further confrontations between police and protesters.
CAIRO — An eerie calm set over Tahrir Square a day after a protest was dispersed with tear gas fired by police, sending students dashing to escape at least 10 noxious white streams that landed around the iconic roundabout.
The Cairo University students had gathered in Tahrir at midday Dec. 1 to protest recent crackdowns by security forces and the killing of engineering student Mohamed Reda,19, on campus last week, during protests against heavy prison sentences handed down to female supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.
Early the next day, Egyptian media would report prosecutor allegations that male and female protesters had fired birdshot guns during the protest and were to blame for Reda’s death and student injuries. The claim has outraged students.
The student union from the faculty of engineering, where Reda was a student, slammed the prosecution's report in a statement as "fabrication.” On Dec. 2, Reda’s schoolmates said on campus they are planning a sit-in later this week.
