The Nasr City Court of Cassation acquitted 36 students accused in Al-Azhar clashes case in an appeal session held on Saturday, according to state-run Al-Ahram.

The students appealed the court decision to imprison them for five years and to pay fines of EGP 100,000.

The defendants were arrested during clashes between security forces and Al-Azhar university students in December 2013. They stand accused of belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, breaking the Protest Law, using force and violence, restricting authorities’ access, assaulting security forces, damaging public and private property, and possession of cold weapons.

Following the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, pro-Brotherhood student protests have been widespread across the nation, often resulting in clashes and violence between students and security forces. The students were demonstrating in protest against Morsi’s removal and to express their support for the Brotherhood regime.

Interim president Adly Mansour had issued a law allowing security forces to enter campuses without permission from university deans or prosecutors.

Moreover, in 2013, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International previously demanded that Egyptian authorities release all arrested university students.