CAIRO

Egypt's prosecutor-general ordered Sunday the release of 130 students, including minors, who have been arrested on violence-related charges.

The prosecutor-general's office said in a statement that the students' release was meant "to maintain their future and allow them to pursue their education."

A judicial source told The Anadolu Agency that the release order includes some student supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, who have been recently arrested from pro-Morsi university protests.

The order also includes members of other protest movements, the source asserted.

In September, Egyptian authorities released scores of detained students ahead of the beginning of the 2014/15 academic year at Egyptian universities, which began in October.

Since Morsi's military ouster last year, thousands of members and supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood group – along with a number of secular activists – have been arrested and convicted on multiple charges.

Throughout the previous academic year, which began two months after Morsi's ouster and imprisonment, many Egyptian universities became epicenters of protest against what critics decried as a "military coup."

In many cases, pro-Morsi student demonstrations turned into deadly confrontations with security forces.

Over the course of the last year, numerous students have been thrown in jail for participating in demonstrations, while university administrations have expelled many others or barred them from sitting for final exams.

Morsi himself currently faces four separate trials in which he faces multiple criminal charges, including espionage, jailbreak and "offending the judiciary."

Former army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, widely seen as the architect of Morsi's ouster, was elected president during a May poll.

www.aa.com.tr/en