More than 50 South Sudanese students in Addis Ababa say they have been released after being beaten and arrested by the Ethiopian police.

The students are studying at the Federal Institute under the government scholarship.

They say they were arrested last week after gathering at the South Sudanese Embassy, demanding their stipends, which they say has not been paid for more than a year now.

“We were stopped from eating for 3 days. So we had to occupy the embassy, in a peaceful manner,” one of the students, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Eye Radio.

“The embassy did not stand with us; instead they send us to jail,” he continued.

The amount is said to be $200 for a student per month.

“They came at 11pm, and by the time one could wake up, you found yourself being held by two policemen,” he said. “We were beaten seriously.”

Eye Radio’s efforts to reach the authorities at the South Sudanese embassy in Addis Ababa, and the Ministry of higher education were not successful.