Concerns are raised over professors detained in Egypt since military coup

Fifty nine professors from various backgrounds including medicine have been arrested and detained in Egypt since the military coup this year, it has emerged.

Local newspapers in Egypt, social media networks, and several doctors contacted by the BMJ said that the professors have been detained since the military coup in July, mostly for speaking out against the current regime that deposed former president Mohamed Morsi.

Among the people arrested recently are Mustafa Issa, professor of gynaecology and obstetrics at the Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, Egypt.

Issa, a fellow of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, is accused of inciting violence, murder, and arson of churches in Minia during recent conflicts in the Minia governate that followed the coup in July.

Other academics who have been arrested include Yahia El-Kashef, a professor in ear, nose, …