fighting inside the AUC Tahrir Building on January 28

Below is the first public statement on the grim events that took place inside the Main Building of our downtown campus on Friday, January 28.

That building is directly on Tahrir Square, so I guess it’s not too surprising. Most likely government forces wanted to use our roof as a firing point for tear gas and worse, and what probably happened is that the protestors saw this, broke through the gate, and went after them. (This is speculation on my part, though, since I’m not part of the emergency management team.)

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A Statement by AUC Regarding the Events of January 28

On January 28, the security of the Tahrir Square campus was breached. The long-unused gate in front of the Palace Building was forced open by individuals the university believes to have been protesters from Tahrir Square and the entrance from Sheikh Rihan Street was forcibly opened by individuals we believe to have been police from the Ministry of Interior. Fighting took place throughout the building, including on the roof. Windows were broken and a number of the offices of the AUC Press, which is housed in the Palace Building, were looted. The AUC security regained control of the building and the rest of the grounds of the University after about four hours. The cornice of the roof was damaged; there was considerable blood on the roof and in the stairwell of the building as well as broken glass throughout. AUC security collected spent shells and tear gas canisters in and around the building.

In recent weeks we have been provided video which appears to show uniformed individuals throwing objects from the roof of the building, including what are probably pieces of the cornice, and in several places they appear to be shooting firearms. The video is not clear, although it appears that at least some of the shots were fired toward the crowd of protesters below.

This action was completely unauthorized. The American University in Cairo has its own security staff and does not use armed police or state security on campus. The presence of any such personnel on our Tahrir Square campus, which was closed at the time, was illegal and counter to all University policies and procedures. Under no circumstances did AUC invite or agree to the use of force on its campus.