The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, ANHRI, denounced the negative practices exercised by the ministry of higher education and the Sinai University against the blogger Amr Salama after refusing to re-register him at the university in submission to security pressures. Security has previously forced the closure of the blog in which Amr enjoys his freedom of opinion and expression.

In addition , security deprived him of nominating to student union elections in November 2008 in the faculty of mass communcation and wrote off his name from the voting lists on election day, despite his application has been accepted and his name on the final list of candidates.

The blogger Amr Salama, owner of the blog "Lessa Ayesh" ,http://lesa-3aish.blogspot.com, has withdrawn his file from university of Sinai – for personal reasons – and applied to the Canadian University in Cairo. There, he was surprised to be officially interrogated because of his writings on his blog ,criticizing the political and social conditions.

Amr had one choice then , he reapplied to Sinai University. There he was asked for the approval of the Dean. After the under Dean asked him for the reasons for leaving the university in the first place and then reapplying, he asked Amr about the poor living conditions in Sinai and told him he was too young to discuss politics. The young man was shocked at the Dean’s response that his admittance was subject to university administration and security authorities approvals. Amr tried to meet the university deputy for student affairs who informed him that his admittance to Sinai University is out of the question.

“Seniors to you and me and it is completely up to them” , was Amr’s father comment on the chain of admittance refusals.

Amr was known to cover the Egytpian authorities stopping aid entry to Gaza via Rafah pass during War on Gaza. He also covered the war impact on the Egyptian-Palestinian border and published pictures of Bedouins sit –ins at the borders because of the injustice done to them by the Egyptian security.

Amr also reported on the aids for Gaza being stolen from warehouses and from Arish stadium and on the demonstrations in support of Gaza. Amr was forced to close his blog to draw the attention of human rights defenders to what he is being exposed.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said that persecution of student bloggers in Egypt has become intolerable . Security now controls the future of a whole generation simply using their right to express. ANHRI demanded putting an end to such blatant security actions in Egyptian state and private universities.