Chief prosecutor of the Sharqiya town of Zagazig Mohamed Abdel-Wadoud referred on Sunday 13 students, including ousted president Mohamed Morsi's nephew Mohamed Said, to the criminal court on charges of attempted murder, Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported.

Abdallah El-Shanawany, dean of Zagazig University's Faculty of Pharmacy, was reportedly struck on the head by the pro-Morsi students who demanded the release of fellow students arrested following on-campus clashes last month.

According to Ahram, the 13 students who protested on 23 December – enrolled at the faculties of Arts, Education, Engineering and Pharmacy – are additionally accused of breaching the protest law, resisting authorities and damaging the university walls.

Police had gathered at the university gates during the protest but did not intervene.

The Egyptian cabinet, headed by Minister Hazem El-Beblawi, ruled in November that police may enter university campuses without prior permission if facilities or students come under threat.

The decision – which reverses previous regulations requiring that police obtain permission from the university president or judicial authorities before entering campuses – resulted from a wave of on-campus pro-Morsi protests which began to rage with the start of the academic year in September at a number of universities across the country, leaving at least 7 dead. 

Police have repeatedly entered university campuses to disperse clashes and protests in recent months.