Riot police throw stones at the entrance of the al-Azhar University Campus during clashes with female university students, who are supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted Egyptian President Mohamed MOrsi, in Cairo's Nasr City district, March 19, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)
Cairo's Nasr City misdemeanours court on Wednesday sentenced 10 students and three professors from Al-Azhar University to three years prison for illegal protesting.
Al-Azhar University has been the scene of ongoing violent clashes between supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and security forces since the start of the academic year last August.
Tens of students have received prison sentences over the past months while others have been expelled.
At the heart of the convictions is a new protest law issued last November by Egypt's interim authorities which bans all demonstrations not pre-approved by the police.
Last November, 12 Al-Azhar students were sentenced to 17 years in prison on similar charges of rioting, in addition to being fined LE64,000 ($9,200) each.
Students have remained at the forefront of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood's resistance to interim authorities, after a security crackdown on Islamist demonstrators rounded up thousands of Brotherhood members, including the group's top leadership.
The near-daily clashes at universities have caused authorities to issue decrees allowing security forces on campuses and granting university administrators the right to expel protesting students.
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