A peaceful is put down in Nottingham University
A peaceful event to spread awareness about the wall in Palestine took place in Nottingham University (see video). The university security clamped down very heavily without good reason; violating the rights of students to be politically active. Also the police was called by the university and 2 arrests were made and the protesters were made to take the wall down!
Below is an article covering the incidents in the a local news paper this is Nottingham:
UNI ARREST SPARKS FREE SPEECH ROW
From www.thisisnottingham.co.uk
Footage showing the arrest of a University of Nottingham student during a campus protest has sparked a freedom of speech campaign on the internet.
A video of the arrest is currently posted on the YouTube website, while a Facebook group called Bring Back Freedom of Speech to University has attracted 900 members.
The 22-year-old student, who has asked not to be named, did not organise the event, meant to raise awareness of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and was initially a bystander.
Second-year law student Glen Wright started filming the protest when police were called. The video shows a police officer arguing with the unnamed student before arresting him for alleged breach of the peace.
The student told the Evening Post: “They shouldn’t have arrested me. As the video shows I was being slightly cocky, but that is no grounds for arrest.”
Students blocked a path near the university’s library with a wooden board, to represent the West Bank Wall. Security officers asked them to remove the board, and called police when the students refused.
The protest was organised by Nidal Hajaj, a second-year sociology student who is president of the university’s Palestinian Society. The group was given permission to have a protest stall on the university campus, but not to use the wooden board.
Mr Hajaj said: “I put the wall up and immediately a member of security came over. We said to them there was nothing illegal about it. It was blocking a path, but there was another path going around it.”
Glen Wright became involved after witnessing the argument between students and security staff.
He said: “I’m familiar with the law [being a law student] and realised what was happening was out of order.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening, all over this little ‘wall’.”
A spokesperson for Notts Police confirmed a 22-year-old student was arrested.
A spokesperson for the University of Nottingham said: “The protesters were asked repeatedly by university security staff to take the wall down so that the students could continue with the protest in the manner in which they had agreed.”
The students refused.
The video shows a police officer telling the student now at the centre of the campaign: “You are inflaming the situation.”
The police officer and student are then heard arguing.
Anonymous on 15 Dec 2007 at 8:44 pm #
i just watched the video. nothing illegal seemed to be happening.at all. protest is one of those so-called ‘democratic rights’.
if it is illegal then we need to seriously ask ourselves this: why is a student wall on a university campus illegal, but an israeli wall on occupied [ie stolen] Palestinian land ok?