Egypt Court Orders 3 US Students Released

Mother of one calls it the best Thanksgiving gift
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 24, 2011 9:18 AM CST
Egypt Court Orders US Students Derrik Sweeney, Luke Gates, and Gregory Porter Released
In this Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 file image from Egyptian state television, three American students are displayed to the camera by Egyptian authorities following their arrest during protests in Cairo.   (Anonymous)

Egyptian officials say a court has ordered the release of three American students arrested this week during the unrest in Cairo. Joy Sweeney, the mother of one of three, also says the consul general confirmed around 6am today that the young men will be released, and adds that news of their pending release is the best Thanksgiving gift.

The three arrested Sunday, all of whom attend the American University in Cairo, are Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student, Luke Gates, a 21-year-old Indiana University student, and Gregory Porter, a 19-year-old Drexel University student. They were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square where they were allegedly throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters, but in a phone call home yesterday, Sweeney denied the three did anything wrong. (More Egypt stories.)

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