Jordan Acquits Students Accused of 'Devil Worship'

A Jordanian military tribunal acquitted five university students of incitement charges on Sunday leveled over accusations they had engaged in "devil worship" and desecrated the Koran, a court official said.

"The court declared the students innocent and ordered them freed for lack of evidence," the official told Agence France Presse, without elaborating.

The students from Al Al-Bayt University in northeastern Jordan were detained in March and charged with "doctrinal and sectarian incitement."

Human Rights Watch has said the students were assaulted by a crowd of other students before their arrest.

Other students have alleged the five ripped and burned a manuscript of the Muslim holy book and threw it in the toilet while performing a "religious ritual," according to the New York-based watchdog.

Incitement is punishable by up to three years in jail in Jordan.