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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Jordan's military tribunal on Sunday cleared five university student defendants from charges of engaging in "devil worship."

The State Security Court (SSC) in its civil commission on Sunday dropped the charges it brought against five Aal al-Bayt University students back in March, that included charges of doctrinal and sectarian incitement.

The five students denied the accusations brought against them in the incident that stirred public opinion on March 12, when other university students assaulted them for allegedly ripping and burning a copy of the Holy Qur'an and throwing it in the toilet while performing a "devil worshipping" ritual.

SSC's session last week, headed by civilian Judge Ahmad Qatarneh, and included Judges Ahmad Omari and Mikhled Raqqad, listened to testimonies, including an instructor at Aal al-Bayt University in Mafraq, northwest of Jordan, who said that the Deanship received complaints of "devil worshipping" practices in the Finance and Business Department.

The witness told the court that the Department probed the incident and did not find any evidence to prove the claims, and asked the Campus security to provide protection for the accused students who were being harassed.

The students were reportedly considered suspicious for wearing "dark clothes, having weird hair styles, and listening to loud Music."

Another witness, a university student, cited that he heard one of the defendants insult the Divine name, but later recanted his statement noting that he did not personally hear from the defendants any statements that insult Islam.

The student testified that the cause of his suspicion was that the students "wore weird clothes and posted questionable posts on Facebook that coincided with the Qur'an desecration incident."

The incident stirred public opinion especially with reactions from ultra-conservative Salafist leaders who called for the "death and prosecution" of the students.

The remarks prompted fears for the safety of the students, two months after over 200 university students cornered the five defendants and harassed them on campus.

Human Rights Watch had called on Jordanian authorities to release the five students back in March.

The students faced up to three years in jail if convicted. The Court on Sunday cleared the defendants of all charges.