Hich released!

Hicham Yezza, the University of Nottingham employee and peace activist ludicrously arrested on anti-terrorism charges, then re-arrested on immigration charges when even the government realised the anti-terrorism charges were so ludicrously stupid that they wouldn't manage to make them stick, is finally out of detention. Granted bail following an immigration hearing, Hich now gets to defend his immigration status by due and proper process, rather than fight against fast-track deportations and paranoid knee-jerk terrorism charges.

Free Hich protest

Yesterday afternoon saw a protest by staff and students at the University of Nottingham, in support of staff member Hicham Yezza, who is due to be arbitrarily and rapidly deported for no good reason at all - they say immigration irregularities, but he had a court case scheduled for early July to hear that, so why rush this forward? This is following his arrest for having a document on his computer that was published by the US government on their website. Some might suggest his deportation is revenge for making the Home Office look stupid.

Despite pouring rain and occurring during exam time, over 500 staff and students turned out to the protest, which included a speech from Alan Simpson MP, who described the arrest as a "dreadful cock-up", and that if the terror legislation of the government continues "we would live in a society where we fear each other and that is what the treatment of Hicham and Rizwaan actually demonstrates."

Photos of the protest
Press release from the campaign website
BBC News Online

Hicham Yezza

You would think that the Home Office in the UK would be a little more careful to not act like some Ministry from George Orwell's 1984. But no.

Earlier this month, someone at the University of Nottingham had a panic when they saw a document on Al-Quaeda on the computer of a member of clerical staff, and called the police. The police arrested the staff member, one Hicham Yezza, and the student who had passed on this document to Mr Yezza for printing.

The document came from the US government. Their website. It's apparently available from Amazon as well.

Not that this stopped the police holding them for six days, and repeatedly describing the material as illegal. Then, once they discovered that the legal case didn't have a leg to stand on, they decided to deport Mr Yezza. Quickly - by the 1st June.

Local MP Alan Simpson (showing why he's one of the few Labour MPs who will actually be missed after the next election) has already protested this one, calling it "arbitrary deportation with no right to a proper hearing."

I've seen no explanation from the Home Office why they feel the need to deport this man so quickly, particularly since he was already due to contest immigration charges in a court of law, and had a hearing date set for 16th July. Other than that the Home Office have been made to look like scaremongers, and want a victim in revenge.