Egypt targets universities as last haven for political expression

Gaber Gad Nassar, president of Cairo University, talks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Cairo October 15, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

CAIRO (Reuters) - Hundreds of police surround its walls, patrolling in armoured vehicles with sirens blaring, while muscle-bound security guards man metal detectors, searching all who enter.

But this is not a military barracks or police station, it is Cairo University, where the government has tightened security as it seeks to avert another year of unrest on university campuses, among the last bastions of protest and dissent in Egypt.