38 Azhar students handed down one year sentences

The Nasr City misdemeanor court sentenced 38 Al-Azhar students to one year in prison for clashes that occurred on campus on October 30, state-run Al-Ahram reported. 

The ruling is the result of an appeal to an 18-month sentence originally handed down to the defendants last November.

The defendants are charged with thuggery, congregation, vandalism, possession of melee weapons and terrorizing students, as well as joining an armed group that aims to disturb peace and security, according to the newspaper.

Since former President Mohamed Morsi’s ouster in July, protests organized by Students Against the Coup (SAC) have been confronted by security forces, and the level of violence has escalated on campuses across the country, especially at Al-Azhar University.

SAC is a movement launched by students who support Morsi’s return to power. Four students have died in clashes between the police and demonstrators since July. Three of those killed were students at Al-Azhar and one was enrolled at Cairo University.

A census conducted by the Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) last December reported that at least 510 students have been arrested since Morsi was removed from office, 211 of whom were enrolled in Al-Azhar University, with 66 in Mansoura University, 39 in Cairo University and 37 in Ain Shams University.