In an email to program participants, the Office of International Programs announced the cancellation the Georgetown 2013 Summer Program in Alexandria, Egypt due to mounting security concerns.

“Your safety is our primary concern, and after monitoring the security situation in Egypt this Spring, OIP has determined that we cannot offer a program in Egypt this summer with sufficient security for all students,” the email read.

“While security concerns have generally been limited to a few locations in Egypt, and foreigners have not been targeted, the unrest is expected to escalate in the near future due to fuel and food shortages.”

On Mar. 29, the State Department issued a travel alert to U.S. citizens visiting and living in the country warning of the “continuing possibility of political and social unrest, incidents of which have led to recent violence.” While U.S. citizens have not been targeted, westerners and U.S. citizens have been caught the middle of violent demonstrations. The alert makes specific mention of a rise in specific “gender-biased violence,” in which women have been the targets of sexual assault in and around protest zones.

According to Associate Director of Overseas Studies Lisa Gordinier, OIP says it is “willing to work with all students who had applied to the Alexandria program to help them find an appropriate summer program.”

The following fall and spring programs in Alexandria have not been canceled, however, and Gordinier says OIP does not plan to cancel them at this time. “We will continue to monitor the security situation in Egypt over the next couple of months before making a decision on that program,” she said.

Photo taken following a Jan. 1, 2011 bomb blast outside of a Coptic Christian Church in Alexandria.

Credit: oxfamnovib via Flickr

Late Saturday night, Derrik Sweeney (COL ’13) (far right), arrived at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and was greeted by his waiting family. Sweeney, who had been studying abroad at the American University in Cairo, was detained last week with two other American students for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at Egyptian security officials during anti-government protests in Tahrir Square.

After several uncertain days of interrogation, the three students were ordered released Thursday by an Egyptian judge. The three students left Egypt to return to the United States Friday night and Saturday morning.

Speaking at a press conference at the airport, Sweeney thanked “the Universe for being so beautiful and good.” He also described in detail the circumstances surrounding his arrest. “Some people claimed they were taking us to a safe place,” Sweeney said. “And then that was that.”

The first night of his detainment, Sweeney believed that he and the other American students “were kinda outside the legal process.” In later interviews with Today and Good Morning America, he said the students were struck repeatedly by their captors in the head. At the airport, Sweeney said, “I don’t think I have any lasting scars fortunately.”

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Update, 9:56 a.m., November 26: Sweeney has left Egypt, and will arrive in Saint Louis late tonight. The other two detained students have also left Egypt.

Original post, 5:17 p.m.: Derrik Sweeney (COL ’13) (far right), who was detained early Tuesday morning by Egyptian authorities for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails at government personnel during protests in Cairo, has been released and will be arriving in the United States tomorrow night. He will arrive in St. Louis, Missouri, appear on The Today Show Sunday morning, and then return home to Jefferson City for his family’s (delayed) Thanksgiving dinner.

His sister Nicole Sweeney tweeted this afternoon, “Derrik is officially out of police custody and I’m so happy I could cry.”

Vox‘s original story on his detainment is available here.

This post will be updated as we get more information.

Update, 4:15 p.m.: In an e-mail to Vox, Nicole Sweeney said the reason the her family has been given for the delay in Sweeney’s release, which a judge had ordered earlier today, is that after a required medical exam was completed, Egyptian authorities decided there was not enough time to file release paperwork before the work day ended. Because Friday and Saturday are the weekend in Egypt, the next work day is Sunday, which is when the three will be released.

According to her e-mail, the three are sleeping on the floor of the state prosecutor’s office “with two blankets between them,” not in a jail cell.

Update, 3:12 p.m.: According to Sweeney’s father, Kevin Sweeney, the three students will not be released until Sunday. In an interview with CBS Radio News, the elder Sweeney said the three are being held in “appalling” conditions without furniture. Sweeney’s sister Nicole tweeted, “I just had the rug pulled out from under my #ridiculouslygrateful Thanksgiving. No release yet…”

Earlier, there were conflicting reports about whether or not the three had already been released. President DeGioia’s statement indicated they had been released already.

Update, 10:43 a.m.: University President John J. DeGioia released the following statement this morning:

We are grateful for the news this morning that our student, Derrik Sweeney, and the other two American students have been released in Cairo. Our entire Georgetown community is deeply grateful to all those whose prompt attention and work led to their release, especially officials at the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and the American University in Cairo. Our thoughts and prayers have been with the Sweeney family and the family and friends of the other two American students. As we give thanks, we continue to keep them in our prayers.

Update, 10:39 a.m., November 24: A Cairo judge ordered the release of the three detained students, including Sweeney.

According to a telephone interview with Sweeney’s parents for the Washington Post, Sweeney will be flying home tomorrow. “I’m so happy right now I can’t even express my joy. He’s just such a positive kid. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say about everything,” said his mother, Joy Sweeney, to the Post.

Update, 6:56 p.m.: A few minutes ago, Nicole Sweeney, Derrik’s older sister, tweeted, “There will be a hearing tomorrow after all. They should be either charged or released at that time.”

According to an AFP report earlier today, Cairo’s prosecutor general had ordered that Sweeney and the other two students be detained for four days as their questioning continues. The students were being questioned in the presence of US Embassy personnel, a defense attorney, and a translator.

Update, 11:55 a.m.: According to Nicole Sweeney, Derrik’s mother Joy was able to speak to him today. She also tweeted, “Derrik indicated that treatment was poor until the last 24 hours or so. I owe additional thanks to everyone who helped spread the word.”

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In 1999, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak received an honorary doctorate of laws from GW. During his visit to Washington, it was his only public appearance.

Mubarak had been president for only 18 years at the time. Then GW president Joel Trachtenberg praised him for he peacekeeping efforts.

“You, Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, addressed destiny as one of the pre-eminent figures in the contemporary story of the Arab Republic of Egypt, a role that history gave you and that you filled with compassion, courage and grace.”

Well, he’ll certainly be in the history books.

h/t GW Hatchet

This morning, Georgetown University officials held a videoconference with the 15 students evacuated from Cairo, Egypt to Doha, Qatar yesterday.

During the conversation, President John DeGioia thanked Rocco DelMonaco, vice president for university safety, who is currently in Doha helping with the evacuation, for helping to organize a successful evacuation. DelMonaco noted prior to the students being brought in to the meeting that all of them had gone through a debriefing with University officials.

As the students arrived, DeGioia said how happy he was to see all of them and that “getting you to a place where we could do this was our first priority for the past few days.”

“It was not an easy decision, but we were guided by the State Department,” DeGioia told the students, noting that the official decision to evacuate the students came at noon on Sunday.

DeGioia, along with Provost James O’Donnell, also thanked a number of Georgetown administrators for their dedication to the evacuation, notably Director of the Office of International Programs Kathy Bellows and Overseas Studies Director Laurie Monarch.

“This is bittersweet,” Bellows noted, continuing, “You are a part of history.”

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In an email sent earlier this afternoon, Georgetown University president John DeGioia affirmed that the undergraduates studying at the AUC campus “are out of Cairo and have now landed safely in Qatar.”

Getting the students out of Egypt was the first concern. Now, according to university spokesperson Julie Green Bataille,  ”We will now begin to focus on appropriate next steps as students consult with family members and academic advisors.”

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Around noon on Saturday several hundred people gathered at the Egyptian embassy to show solidarity with the anti-government protesters in Egypt.

The organizer, Mohammad Abdeljaber, is a third-year graduate student in the Department of Arab and Islamic Studies.  Much like the students that coordinated the first demonstrations in Cairo, Abdeljaber used Facebook to get the word out about his event, which he posted on Wednesday after seeing no Washington solidarity rally had yet been organized.

“This whole thing has been a grassroots effort from the start.  I did it on the spot…it wasn’t anything that was related to any organization,” Abdeljaber told Vox, “My involvement with this project has been a matter of seconds.  I just created the event on Facebook and it took a life of its own.  I cannot take credit for it.”

By Saturday morning, over 900 people had signed up to attend the event.  Abdeljaber estimated that around 600 people showed up.

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Yesterday, four Georgetown academics–Samer Shehata, Steven Heydemann, Hesham Sallam, and John Voll–encouraged President Barack Obama to throw his support behind a week-long uprising against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

“As political scientists, historians, and researchers in related fields who have studied the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy, we the undersigned believe you have a chance to move beyond rhetoric to support the democratic movement sweeping over Egypt,” the letter, which was signed by 101 professors from around the country, read. “As citizens, we expect our president to uphold those values.”

Both Shehata and Voll work within the School of Foreign Service, while Sallam is a PhD student in Georgetown College. Heydemann is an associate professor who mainly works in the Georgetown Public Policy Institute.

After urging Obama support the revolution, the letter goes on to suggest a new era of diplomacy between the United States and Egypt.

“In order for the United States to stand with the Egyptian people it must approach Egypt through a framework of shared values and hopes, not the prism of geostrategy,” it added. “For that reason we urge your administration to seize this chance, turn away from the policies that brought us here, and embark on a new course toward peace, democracy and prosperity for the people of the Middle East.”

After the jump, we’ve republished the letter.

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Julie Green Bataille, associate vice president for communications, has confirmed in an email to Vox that all fifteen students from Georgetown University that are currently studying abroad at the American University of Cairo will be departing the country as soon as possible.

“All of the students have been contacted and are safely accounted for at this time,” she wrote.

The University’s emergency response team, in cooperation with the U.S. State Department and International SOS, are working to ensure a safe and speedy evacuation for the students.

Full text of Bataille’s statement:

After careful consideration, and following guidance from the U.S. State Department, American University of Cairo officials and International SOS, Georgetown is making plans to evacuate all students currently studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt. This semester fifteen undergraduates are studying at the American University of Cairo (AUC). All of the students have been contacted and are safely accounted for at this time. Georgetown personnel are working with officials from the U.S. State Department and International SOS in order to arrange for the students to depart Egypt as safely and quickly as possible.

For the past several days, staff from the Office of International Programs have been in regular touch with AUC personnel, our students, and our students’ families and we will continue to provide updated information to students and parents as it becomes available.  We continue to monitor the situation closely and we are communicating with State Department and AUC officials as the situation evolves. Getting our students out of Egypt safely and as quickly as possible is our primary goal at this time.  Once students have safely departed, we will focus our full attention on alternative academic arrangements for the the remainder of the spring semester.