Cairo: Egyptian Police arrested a university student for holding a copy of the English writer George Orwell’s anti-totalitarianism classic 1984, an Egyptian newspaper reported on Monday.
Security forces arrested the 21 year old outside Cairo University, Egypt’s biggest academic institution, he also had a notebook about the Islamic caliphate and “how to apply it in the country”, the independent newspaper Al Masry Al Youm said.
The student, whose school was not specified, also had two cellphones without batteries with him and three USBs, according to the report.
It was not immediately clear what charges could be raised against him.
Published in 1949, 1984 is about a police state where thoughtcrime is the worst of all offences.
The novel has long been taught in Egyptian universities, and its English and Arabic versions are available in Cairo’s bookstores.
News of the arrest for carrying a copy of 1984 drew instant criticism and derision from Egyptians on social networking sites.
“What a black day! I have 10 copies of 1984. This means I’ll be detained 10 times,” Fat’hi Rafaat said sarcastically in a Facebook post.
“Please would anyone tell them [police] that this novel is being studied at state universities!”, said another detractor, named Meshu. No security official was immediately available for comment.
Egyptian authorities have recently enforced draconian measures in academic institutions to curb protests by students, mostly from the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group. The government says the measures are necessary to restore stability to universities.
Egyptian universities have been rocked by protests since last year when the army deposed Islamist president Mohammad Mursi, a senior Brotherhood leader. Thousands, mostly Islamists, have since been detained.
In June, Abdul Fattah Al Sissi, an ex-army chief who led Mursi’s removal, took office as president.
Rights groups accuse Al Sissi’s government of seeking to oppress political dissent, an accusation repeatedly denied by Egyptian officials.
