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Regrettably, no information on above question could be found among the sources consulted by ACCORD.

According to the Child Soldiers Global Report 2004, published by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers in November 2004, men between 18 and 30 years of age are liable for military service for a term of three years, whereas graduates of higher education serve for a period of 18 months. (Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, November 2004, chapter “National recruitment legislation and practice”)

An article of Middle East Online, dated 12 November 2003, confirms that military service in Egypt ranges from one year to three years, with Egyptians who pursue higher education benefiting from the shorter period (Middle East Online, 12 November 2003).

Ragui Assaad from the Population Council in Cairo states in an article from July 2005:

“With the exception of the period from 1967 to 1973, when conscripts could serve indefinitely, the duration of military service is normally one year longer for secondary and technical institute graduates than for university graduates.”

Wikipedia describes the military conscription in Egypt as follows:

“Egypt has a mandatory military service program for males between the ages of eighteen and thirty. Females of comparable age serve in a civilian program. Conscription is regularly postponed for students until the end of their studies, as long as they apply before they turn twenty eight years of age. By the age of thirty a male is considered unfit to join the army and pays a fine. Males with no brothers, or those supporting parents are exempted from the service. Males serve for a period ranging from fourteen months to forty eight months depending on their education; high school dropouts serve for forty eight months during which they finish their high-school education. College graduates serve for lesser periods of time, depending on their education, and college graduates with special skills are still conscripted yet at a different rank and with a different pay scale with the option of remaining with the service as a career. Some Egyptians evade conscription and travel overseas until they reach the age of thirty, at which point they are tried, pay a $580 fine (as of 2004), and are dishonorably relieved of their obligation to serve in the army. Such an offense, legally considered an offense of "bad moral character", prevents the "unpatriotic" citizen from ever holding public office.” (Wikipedia, last modified: 6 April 2006, para 6.11)

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the ACCORD within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.