|
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| State Rep. Brendan Boyle
|
|
Brendan Boyle demands immediate release of U.S. students being held in Cairo
HARRISBURG, Nov. 23 – State Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Phila/Montco., today sent a letter to Egyptian military authorities, requesting the immediate release of three U.S. citizens, including Drexel University student Gregory Porter of Glenside, being detained by Egyptian security forces in the wake of pro-democracy protests in Cairo this week.
"I am dismayed and alarmed by the precedent set by the Egyptian military's detention of these U.S. citizens," Boyle said in his letter to Field Marshall Mohammed Hussien Tantawi. "In popular protests such as these, Americans should be turned over to their embassy to ensure the mutual safety and security of the Egyptian state."
Porter, 19, was detained with two other study-abroad students at the American University in Cairo. According to media reports, they are accused of participating in pro-democracy riots in Egypt.
Boyle is an adjunct professor of public policy at Drexel University. His letter continued, "As a duly elected official of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I hereby call upon you to release Mr. Porter and his American peers into the custody of our embassy. This will act as a sign of good will between the United States government and the new government of Egypt.
"Releasing these young men will further reassure United States citizens as to the stability and security of the Egyptian state," Boyle's letter concluded.
The other two students have been identified as Luke Gates, a 21-year-old student at the University of Indiana, and Derrick Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student. They have been held since Monday.
###