May 16, 2021
This Week in Human Rights News
Neighbours in Glasgow block detention of two men by immigration enforcement officials
Sources: Vice, The Guardian, Reuters, Herald Scotland, Irish Times
After an eight-hour standoff with local residents and protesters in the south side of Glasgow, two men detained by immigration enforcement officials were released back into their community.
At 9am on Thursday, immigration enforcement officers removed two men from their home in the south side of Glasgow but were unable to drive off when a crowd gathered around the van and a local resident climbed underneath the van. The man stayed under the van until the men’s release at 5pm.
As word spread quickly on social media, hundreds of residents and neighbours began surrounding the van throughout the day, preventing the van from driving away.
Roza Salih, a Kurdish refugee and co-founder of Glasgow Girls in 2005 to prevent the deportation of a school friend and fight against dawn raids, questioned why the widely condemned practice seemed to come back after 15 years.
Salih and others also expressed their shock that a dawn raid had been carried out during Eid al-Fitr - meant to be a time of peaceful celebration - in one of the most multicultural areas of Glasgow.
As worshippers left the local mosque, they also began joining the stand-off.
Around 3pm, a police line attempted to advance on the crowd, shouting at and shoving protesters, who sat down and blocked off the police action.
Many chanted “Leave our neighbours, let them go” and “Cops go home”.
Shortly after 5pm, Police Scotland released a statement saying that the men were to be released without charges “in order to protect the safety, public health and wellbeing of those involved in the detention and subsequent protest”.
The crowd that had gathered cheered on when the two men were freed.
Both men, a mechanism and a chef, are in their 30s and have been in the UK for 10 years without indefinite leave to remain.
This occurred within Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s constituency, and she later condemned the Home Office action.
Humza Yousaf, Scottish Justice Secretary also tweeted that “the UK Govt’s hostile environment is not welcome here”.
The border officials in the van were accountable to the government in Westminster whereas the police officers who later arrived on the scene for crowd control and public safety were accountable to Edinburgh.
Roza Salih told news agencies that “This is a victory for the community.”
Pinar Aksu, of Maryhill Integration Network said “They messed with the wrong city”, adding that “This is just the start. When there is another dawn raid in Glasgow, the same thing will happen.