Prior to Thursday, May 13, 2021, few people beyond the south side of Glasgow had ever heard of Kenmure Street. But when its diverse community gathered in the hundreds that day to block a raid by UK immigration officials, its action was celebrated internationally and the location became synonymous with community spirit and inspiring activism.
Much of the coverage focused on the jubilant and community atmosphere: families celebrating the first day of Eid were joined by experienced activists, a pop-up shop was set up at a bus stop, and local businesses of Pollokshields gave food and water to the protesters.
The successful action saw the two detained Indians, Sumit Sehdev, a chef, and Lakhvir Singh, a mechanic, suspected of having exceeded their visas, be released with shouts of exaltation after an eight-hour confrontation. .
But now, a year later, some protesters remain embroiled in a fierce battle with police as they fight the charges they received that day.
Police in Scotland confirmed in May last year that they had arrested and charged a 23-year-old woman and two men, aged 31 and 32, for crimes against public order and sent a report to the prosecutor. All three were told earlier this year that the state intended to continue the proceedings, with trial dates set for early August.
Now dubbed the “Kenmure Street Three,” they have launched a petition to drop their charges, along with a call for images that could help their defense and a call for the public to put pressure on the case.
The three protesters described their arrests as violent. “The police want you to believe that they were somehow there to facilitate the protest; they were not, ”they wrote in a statement announcing the petition.
“They were there to allow the abduction of two men by the racist Ministry of the Interior. We were just resisting this, as were many of you and thousands of others, but we were brutalized and imprisoned, and now we are facing a process. repressive and distressing judicial system “.
His account of the day coincides with that of other protesters who describe a dominant and aggressive police force. Beth Douglas, 28, joined the protest after seeing shouts on social media and came across “the most intense police presence I’ve ever seen in Glasgow”. “It was not a presence to allow a safe protest, but an army to intimidate the protesters,” he said.
Glasgow-based human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, who successfully negotiated with police on the ground for the release of the two detained Indians, who had been living in Scotland for more than 10 years, described the presence. police at the time as “inflammatory and provocative.” ”. Since then, his firm has taken over the Kenmure Street Three cases.
“It is disappointing that the Scottish police will prosecute anyone against the protest that day,” says Anwar. He confirmed that the “van man”, an activist who remained under an immigration van for eight hours, was not among those prosecuted after police agreed during the field negotiations not to take any action against him. .
A protester, who wished to remain anonymous, witnessed and filmed the arrests. “The protesters who were arrested did absolutely nothing different from the rest of us,” they said. “It seemed like the police just picked a few people at random to remind everyone that they could arrest us and they would do a lot of it. It seemed unnecessary and brutal, because everything was completely peaceful.”
A Scottish police spokesman confirmed the arrests and said he had not received any complaints regarding the protest. “Police Scotland is a rights-based organization,” they said. “This means that we will protect the rights of people who want to protest or counter-protest peacefully, in balance with the rights of the community at large.”
The Crown office and the prosecutor’s office confirmed that three active cases were due in court on 3 and 4 August.
While the detainees are waiting for their charges to be dropped before the trial, activists consider the decision to prosecute to be a provocation.
“Actions like this will only make us more united and unite our communities to resist,” said Savan Qadir of the Glasgow No Evictions Network, who coordinated a response on the day. “They can’t prosecute us all for defending what is morally right.”