South Africa to release over 140 protesters detained for university demo
South Africa will free over 140 students and workers who spent the night in jail after taking part in an illegal protest on the University of Johannesburg campus.
"The process is ongoing, but at the end of the day the 141 protesters will be released," police spokesman Tsekiso Mofokeng said on Saturday.
Mofokeng added that the freed students would be required to appear in court on November 9.
"If they don't appear in court, a warrant of arrest will be issued," he said.
The protest on Friday defied a ban on campus demonstrations during the period allocated to student exams.
The demonstration came just two weeks after tens of thousands of students staged a series of protests to oppose a rise in university tuition fees. The protests succeeded in getting the government to scrap the hike in fees.
However, students are angry over a lack of opportunity in a country with about a 50-percent rate of youth unemployment.
Joblessness has been extremely high in post-apartheid South Africa, as the country has struggled with many changes after decades of apartheid rule, or racial segregation, which lasted during the late 1940s through the 1990s.
While many blacks have risen to middle or upper classes, the overall unemployment rate of blacks worsened between 1994 and 2003.
South African universities have been the scene of regular protests this year, with demonstrators calling for a reform in government policies.
US to pull out troops from Chad in second African state withdrawal
Tehran economic conference: Raeisi hails Iran-Africa expansion of ties
UK's Rwanda deportation plan morally disgraceful
‘Hamas serious about reaching agreement, will not yield to US pressure’
Haniyeh: Justice demands arrest of Netanyahu, his terrorist cabinet
VIDEO | Israeli war crimes in Gaza
Syrian president, Bahrain FM discuss expansion of bilateral relations
Sudan demands UNSC emergency meeting on UAE ‘aggression’
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
17,000 children left unaccompanied in Gaza amid Israel’s war: UN agency
Iraq’s lawmakers call for expulsion of US ambassador
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
