Acquittal for 16 of 21 students arrested in Port Sudan

The Port Sudan Criminal Court has acquitted 16 of the 21 students arrested by security forces from the Red Sea University campus in Port Sudan on Monday.

The students’ defence lawyer, Mohammad Abdel Hameed, told Radio Dabanga that security forces arrested the 21 students on Monday from Port Sudan University and brought them on the same day to Port Sudan criminal court before Judge Ali Mohammad Ali under articles (69 and 77) relating to breach of public safety and public nuisance.

He said the court acquitted 16 of the students, postponed the trial of two until Wednesday, and transferred three under-age children to the juvenile court.

Boycott

Students from Red Sea University began a boycott of exams last week. The boycott is in protest against the deterioration of the academic environment, and the loss of personal belongings such as computers and mobile phones during a police raid on the boarding house of the Seaports Corporation in November 2016.

Police stormed the campus and arrested several student activists.