CAIRO, Jan 21 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt's State Commissioner’s Authority recommended on Wednesday the  reopening of al-Sadat metro station located beneath Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo.

The authority urged the government to take all measures to secure the station as well as the square.

The recommendation comes in response to a lawsuit Egypt’s administrative court is currently reviewing. It was filed by citizens who say they have been harmed by the decision to close the station.

The metro station has been shut down for a year and a half since the dispersal of two camps set up in support of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in August, 2013.The forced dispersal caused nationwide violence, which lasted for days and prompted authorities to declare a state of emergency and a curfew.

The government cited national security considerations for the station’s continued closure.  

The commissioner's authority, however, said the security considerations do not justify the closure, adding that the closure "increases the suffering of citizens who use the metro."

The recommendations of the report are not binding.

According to the report, the Egyptian Company for Metro Management and Operation lost around 218 million Egyptian pounds over the last 18 months as a result of the shutdown of this station.