US awaits release of 3 students held in Egypt

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Family and friends of three American students arrested during a protest in Cairo have been waiting anxiously for news that they've been released from police custody.

Derrik Sweeney, Luke Gates and Gregory Porter attend the American University in Cairo and 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.

Porter's attorney Theodore Simon confirmed Thursday that a court in Egypt had ordered the students to be released. But by Friday, loved ones in the United States were still waiting to hear if the students had left police custody.

The 19-year-old Sweeney attends Georgetown University. Porter is a 19-year-old student at Philadelphia's Drexel University, and the 21-year-old Gates attends Indiana University.