Cape Town - The 29 university students who were arrested on Wednesday, on charges relating to their illegal protest action within the precincts of Parliament, were all released on warning when they appeared in court on Thursday.
Confusion reigned in the Cape Town District Court, as the students filed one by one into and around the spacious dock, with prosecutor Andi Hess calling their names.
One student in the crowded dock, seemingly amused at the spectacle of them all crammed into the dock with him, took a “selfie” photograph of them all, holding his cellphone camera up above his head.
They appeared before magistrate Jacqui Muller, and clapped wildly after she declared them all released on warning, instead of bail, with the only condition that they appear in the same court again on February 23 next year.
Cape Town’s senior public prosecutor, David Jacobs, dealt with the matter in the proceedings, and not the court’s regular prosecutor, Hess.
He told the court that the police had already released 23 of the 29 students from custody the night before, on condition that they appeared in court on Thursday.
All faced charges of public violence and violating the Regulation of Gatherings Act, but the six who remained in custody faced an additional charge of trespassing, he said.
He said the State had no objection to the six in custody being released on warning as well.
On the charge framed under the Regulation of Gatherings Act, all are alleged to have refused to disperse, after being informed by the police that their gathering was prohibited.
He suggested that they all be warned not to attend any more illegal gatherings, as a condition of their release.
At the end of the proceedings, the magistrate ruled that the release of all the students on warning was in the interests of justice - without any conditions attached other than to appear in court again in February.
African News Agency
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