On Wednesday (29th January) over 300 students met in Birmingham to discuss resistance against privatisation, commodification and marketization of education. They peacefully marched and staged a short sit-in at the University of Birmingham.
Over 100 were illegally kettled for a number of hours, and students were only allowed to leave on condition that they gave their details and allowed police to film them, which contravenes a recent Human Rights ruling.
Since then 14 students have been held for over 28 hours in police custody and one has been hospitalised. WE are hearing that three students have been charged with violent disorder, are being held overnight and are due to appear in court.
This is part of a wider trend of the criminalization of student protest against austerity and is an absolute outrage.
Please respond by doing the following:
Join solidarity rally tomorrow outside Bham Magistrates Court, 9.30am
Sign the petition against suspensions: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/prof-david-eastwood-unibirmingham-reinstate-the-students-at-birmingham-university-whose-only-crime-has-been-to-defend-education
Join the solidarity protest @SOAS tomorrow 12noon: https://www.facebook.com/events/581368055281768/
Read more about it:
http://www.defendeducationbrum.org/press-release-student-hospitalised-after-demo/
http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/police-accused-of-kettling-student-protesters-at-a-national-demonstration-in-birmingham-9095907.html
