A crisis between students and management at the University of Alexandria has escalated after a student union leader was expelled and banned from entering the campus.

Mahmoud Abu Hadid, a first year nuclear engineering student and member of the Revolutionary Socialists, was denied entry to the university on Wednesday for leading a protest against the management of the engineering department.

“I was told that I was expelled from the university,” explained Abu Hadid. “So, I came back with my lawyer to try and get a copy of my dismissal letter, but so far there's been nothing.”

Four students who tried to enter the grounds and get a copy of the dismissal letter were beaten and thrown out.

Abu Hadid was accused of conducting activities not approved of by university management. Two other revolutionary socialists have been expelled from the university this term.

Abu Hadid’s expulsion comes after he organised a 45-day protest over 14 demands, which included announcing the budget, upgrading campus facilities, getting rid of campus security and removing the dean of the engineering department, Fahmy Fath El-Bab, who is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. The students also demanded a say in the decision-making process of the university’s board of trustees and a role in choosing the dean of the engineering department.

During the first ten days of the protest, hundreds of engineering students demonstrated on campus. During the next 35 days a group of fifty students held a sit-in at the campus, refusing to leave even at night.

On Saturday, the sit-in was called off.

“Our main goal now is to get rid of Dean Fath El-Bab,” says Abu Hadid. “We believe he is financially corrupt. Our battle will continue.”