The so-called Reitz four have requested the Free State director of public prosecutions to drop a charge of crimen injuria against them, Beeld newspaper reported on Thursday.

Their lawyer, Christo Dippenaar, confirmed to the Afrikaans daily that he had handed in a written request to advocate Andre du Toit, SC.

The four accused ? RC Malherbe, Schalk van der Merwe, Johnny Roberts and Danie Grobler ? are expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on October 26 on charges of crimen injuria.

The students allegedly videotaped three Reitz cleaners eating meat which had apparently been urinated on.

The university's new rector, Jonathan Jansen, recently withdrew disciplinary charges against the four students behind the 2007 incident, drawing widespread criticism from several quarters in the African National Congress.