Cairo July 18, 2012

ANHRI denounces, that some of the Mubarak remnants still in their positions in the universities, although the revolutions’ demands of firing them, and abuse their administrative power. “Ahmed Zaki Badr”, the president of Akhbar EL-Youm Academy, arbitrary fired six employees due to participating in a demonstrations against him.

Among the fired employees “Mohamed Attwa”, “Nagla Ismail”, “Hossam Hosni”, “Yahia Zakaria” and “Mohamed Abdulaziz”.

Zaki’s decision of firing the employees was after the end of the academic year, although the demonstrations were at the begin of the academic year. ANHRI said “Badr as a minor dictator and as Mubarak’s remnant, feared the move of the students, therefore he decided to take the decision at the end of the academic year, so the university is empty and the employees are in a holiday”.

The Academy had a crisis at the beginning of the academic year because of the insistence of the students to dismiss  “Zaki Badr,” and the appointment of a new president. Some of the academic staff participated in demonstrations. They were administratively investigated about 3 times before.

Some press reports quoted from  “Mohammed Atwa” fired by Zaki Badr as he said “that Zaki filed a lawsuit against them and said to them: “I will not just fire you, but I will send all of you to jail too.”
four of the fired people said they filed an appeal before the courts for decision of firing, which shall be effective in the beginning of September.

They said that  administration deducted from their remuneration amounts up to 9 thousand pounds and when they tried to arrange a meeting more than once with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Akhbar El-Youm Foundation, “Mohamed Hawary,” their attempt was  rejected.

“Ahmed Zaki Badr” has a black record in the suppression of freedoms, he is the son of the former minister of interior in Egypt, which has been linked to a period of brutal violations of human rights, against the detainees and the spread of torture in the prisons of Mubarak. “Zaki Badr,” was the president of  the University of Ain Shams before he became the president of Akhbar El-youm Academy, in his term of Ain-​​Shams many astonishing facts took place, including the thugs who entered the campus for several times and assaulted the opposing students. Moreover, he supervised  the abuse against the opposing students and to investigate them as well as dismissing them. The social security was not punished for participation in the crime of assault against the students sometimes, merely witnessing them subjected to beatings and the assault at other times.

“Ahmed Zaki Badr,” was the Minister of Education, before being dismissed with the government after the revolution of January. Several judgments were made against him in different cases. At the end of 2011 he was appointed as a president of the Akhbar El-Youm Academy  by the previous Chairman of the Board of Directors.

ANHRI said “The firing of staff by this way for just expressing their views is a blatant infringement on the labor laws and academic freedom.”

ANHRI stressed on that ” a man sentenced by the court and used thugs against the students, it is not right to keep him on the head of an educational institution academy as important as Akhbar El-Youm.”

ANHRI calls he chairman of Akhbar El-Youm to interfere immediately to resolve the problem and also stopping the decision of the arbitrary dismissal and review its position of supporting of Zaki Badr. Its also urged the Ministry of Higher Education to review the laws of heads appointment of the private institutes and universities to be elected and not to be appointed as the new law still allows the appointment, under certain circumstances.