Five men appeared in court today on charges connected to street violence in a student area of south Belfast.
They appeared at Laganside Magistrates Court today following their arrests yesterday during disturbances in the Holylands neighbourhood.
Trouble flared when officers moved in to clear revellers from a number of house parties which had spilled onto the street.
Alan McCrory (21), from Charlestown Road, Craigavon, faces two charges of assaulting a police constable and riotous behaviour.
Augustine McAleer (19), and Enda Ward (26), both of Loughmacrory Park, Omagh, are each accused of assault. Mr McAleer is further charged with the attempted criminal damage of a police Land Rover, riotous behaviour and resisting arrest. Mr Ward faces a second charge of obstructing police during the disorder yesterday.
Gary Keenan (20), of Carrickbawn Road, Rostrevor, and Darren Connolly, an electrician from Tievenamara Road, Keady, are both accused of riotous behaviour.
A PSNI officer told Belfast Magistrates Court he could connect each of them with the alleged offences. All five were released on their own bail of £500 to appear again next month.
A total of 19 people were arrested during the disturbances in the Carmel Street and Agincourt Avenue areas. Officers were pelted with bottles at one stage and had to form a line to keep back the troublemakers.
Politicians tonight demanded universities discipline students involved in the rioting in the Holylands area of Belfast on St Patrick’s Day.
Members of the Stormont Assembly’s Employment and Learning Committee branded the behaviour of students in the area as outrageous. They said they intended to ensure the universities pursue the trouble makers and properly discipline them.
However, only one of the five men to appear in court was actually a student. He is enrolled at the University of Ulster.
Once the student’s case has been dealt with by the courts he faces further action by the university. A spokesman said a disciplinary hearing for bringing the university into disrepute would be likely to follow any conviction.
How many of those who remain to go before the courts are students is as yet unknown.