Tear gas fired by riot police at protesters fills the air during clashes between riot police and students of Al-Azhar University, who support the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, outside the university's campus in Cairo's Nasr City district December 27, 2013 (Photo: Reuters)
The jail sentence for 38 Al-Azhar University students convicted of clashing with police officers last October has been reduced from 18 months to one year.
A Nasr City misdemeanour court in November had sentenced the pro-Mohamed Morsi students to a year and a half in jail for protesting, rioting, blocking roads and assaulting police officers in clashes with security forces at the university's campus in east Cairo.
Monday's ruling from an appeals court, however, lowered the sentence to a year.
Cairo's universities have been the scene of frequent violent clashes between pro-Morsi students and police since the start of the academic year last August, with the bulk of the demonstrations taking place at Al-Azhar and Cairo University.
Twelve other Al-Azhar students were sentenced last November to 17 years in prison on charges of attempting to storm the university's headquarters, inciting riots, attacking both employees and security personnel, as well as destroying public and private property.
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