First American student leaves

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA

A Cairo airport official said the first of three American students arrested during a protest in Cairo has left Egypt.

Luke Gates, 21, left Cairo early this morning on a flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

An Egyptian court ordered the release of Gates, along with Derrik Sweeney and Gregory Porter, both 19, on Thursday. All were studying at the American University in Cairo.

The three were arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square on Sunday. Officials accused them of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.

The other two were expected to leave on separate flights later today, the airport official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

“I am ecstatic. I can’t wait for him to get home tomorrow night,” Joy Sweeney, Serrik Sweeney’s mother, said Friday afternoon.