By: Hailey Colwell

When he came to the University of Minnesota from Egypt in 2009 to get his Ph.D., computer science student Abdeltawab Hendawi had no idea that many of his good friends would be killed for peacefully protesting before he got back.

Though he planned to return to his home in Egypt after finishing school, Hendawi said he’s unsure of what to do now.  

Hendawi and other University students gathered in front of the U.S. Courthouse in downtown Minneapolis on Friday to raise awareness about ongoing violence in Egypt that escalated in early July after a coup ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi from office.

“We want to spread the word to Minnesotans and to Americans,” said Tamer Sharafeldin, a University veterinary medicine doctoral student and member of the nonprofit Egyptian-Americans for Democracy and Human Rights, which helped organize the rally. “We just want to let them know what’s going [on] in Egypt.”

The group formed in early July as a response to Morsi’s removal from office and has organized events over the past two months to show support for peaceful protest and democracy in Egypt, Sharafeldin said.

Similar rallies took place around the world on Friday in support of nonviolent protest, he said.

Sharafeldin said he’s explained to his University advisers and students he teaches why people are protesting the coup in his homeland. 

 “They are looking to have a life in democracy,” he said, “a better life for themselves and for their kids in the future.”