PHILADELPHIA - At least one of three American students arrested during protests in Cairo arrived back in the U.S. on Saturday, nearly three days after an Egyptian court ordered their release.
Gregory Porter, 19, landed in Philadelphia after flying from Cairo to Paris. He and two other U.S. students had been arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo's Tahrir Square last Sunday after officials accused them of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.
Luke Gates, 21, and Derrik Sweeney, 19, left the Egyptian capital Saturday morning on separate flights to Frankfurt, Germany, an airport official in Cairo said.
All three young men were studying at the American University in Cairo.
Porter, who attends Drexel University in Philadelphia, was met at the airport by his parents and other relatives. He is from nearby Glenside, Pa.
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"We're thrilled that he's home," said Sharon Sloan of Newtown, Pa., one of the relatives at the airport. "We think it's a miracle, definitely an answer to prayer."
Protests have been going on in Cairo since Nov. 19, in anticipation of the landmark parliamentary elections due to start Monday.
On Friday, the crowd grew to more than 100,000 people, and thousands remained there Saturday.
