By Nourhan Dakroury
17 people accused of attempting to break into an Al-Azhar building were acquitted on Saturday.
The prosecution appealed the court decision a few hours after the verdict came out.
The 17 defendants were among 200 others protesting on 28 May in front of a building affiliated with Al-Azhar near Nasr City demanding employment, according to state-owned Al-Ahram.
The situation escalated when a few protesters started throwing rocks at the building, breaking windows and damaging five cars, according to Al-Ahram.
Security forces arrested 17 of the protesters, who were later accused of rioting and attempting to break into the building, in addition to damaging public and private property.
The defendants were previously acquitted on 1 June, but they were detained for an additional 15 days, after the prosecution appealed the court decision.
According to Al-Ahram, the defendants denied the accusations, stressing that they were demanding their rights peacefully.
Al-Azhar could not be reached for comment.
