(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Mutah University's Dean of Student Affairs Musleh Tarawneh on Monday appeared to walk back an earlier statement that the university had expelled 12 students for taking part in a brawl last week.
Although in his statement last Wednesday, Tarawneh said the decision was taken after investigating the incident and more students might be expelled as the investigation is still going on, yesterday he said that "a committee is still investigating 31 students who reportedly took part in last week's brawl".
The investigation, according to Tarawneh, takes up to two months and "if the committee decides to expel any students, the decision is subject to appeal".
He told The Jordan Times that "it is unfair to take quick decisions".
"The committee will check the cameras on campus and will listen to testimony," the dean explained.
Five people, including non-Jordanian students, university security staff and Tarawneh himself were injured during the clashes last week.
The brawl, which coincided with a ceremony marking Al Wafa Day and a conference on campus violence, involved Jordanian, Yemeni and Saudi students, according to the dean.
To prevent such incidents in the future, the university's administration and the Karak Governorate security council will hold an urgent meeting this week to discuss preventive measures, he said in his prior statement.
Meanwhile, Tarawneh yesterday denied news reports claiming that students from Saudi Arabia studying at Mutah University had been absent since last week after being threatened by the families of Jordanian students who were involved in the fight.
"The news reports are baseless. None of the Saudi students received any threat and they are our guests," he noted.
Officials at the Saudi embassy were not available for comment.
On Sunday, dozens of the southern university's students held a sit-in protesting against the punitive measures against one side of those who took part in the brawl, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported
The students described the decision as "unjust" and called on the university's administration to be fair and punish any student found to have been involved in the brawl.
They also called on the administration to form an independent committee to investigate the incident.
Representatives of the local community in Karak Governorate, officials, and Omani Cultural Attach in Jordan Abdullah Saqfi held a meeting on Sunday to discuss the issue, Petra reported.
During the meeting, Saqfi and other officials from the Omani embassy pledged to convey the apology of the Jordanian students to the non-Jordanian students and their families through their embassies.
