The Story So Far
This website was set up to publicise the campaign to prevent the deportation of Hicham Yezza (Hich to his many friends) and to fight his continuing persecution. Hicham has lived in Nottingham for 13 years, where he studied for his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. He worked at the School of Modern Languages at the University of Nottingham, where he had built up a large network of close friends. He had served as a member of the University of Nottingham Senate for two terms (2004-5) and on the Student’s Union Executive Committee, was President and Co-founder of the Arabic Society, was the editor of the influential Voice magazine for international students, and is the long-time editor of Ceasefire magazine, a political journal. He is a prominent founding member of the ‘Al-Zaytouna’ artistic troupe, and weeks before his arrest performed the leading role in a feature play at the Nottingham Arts Theatre.
Hich was arrested at his office at the University of Nottingham under the Terrrorism Act 2000 on May 14, 2008, along with his friend Rizwaan Sabir, a postgraduate student researching terrorism in the university’s Politics and International Relations department. The reason for the arrests - only revealed after several days - was apparently because Hich possessed on his office computer an open-source, edited version of a document called ‘The Al-Qaeda Training Manual‘, which Rizwaan had downloaded from the U.S. Department of Justice website and passed on to Hich, who was helping him draft his PhD proposal. It was later revealed that a more detailed version of the same document, is available to buy in book form on Amazon.com.
Both men were detained without charge while their homes were searched, their property seized, and their friends and family questioned at length. They were detained for six days without charge (the police had been granted an extension) and with barely any contact with the outside world; Hich enduring almost twenty hours of interrogation in police custody. Both were released without charge on May 20, amidst a storm of publicity over the serious implications of the arrests for civil liberties, in particular for academic freedom.
Not having been charged under the Terrorism Act, Hich was immediately re-arrested minutes after his release for charges under the Immigration Act, in a move that was considered by many (not least Nottingham South MP, Alan Simpson) to be highly political and suspect. Despite Hich’s publicly-declared intention that he was determined to fight the charges in court, and that he was seeking detailed legal advice, an order for a fast-tracked deportation was suddenly issued on May 23 and a deportation flight was scheduled for June 1. The Home Office planned to remove Hich from the U.K. after thirteen years’ of residence less than three weeks after his arrest under the Terrorism Act. Thanks to a huge campaign of protest at this injustice, including the biggest demonstration in the university’s history, a successful legal challenge was mounted and the fast-track deportation was cancelled.
Nonetheless, the Home Office refused to grant Hich temporary release whilst his case was being reconsidered. He subsequently spent a total of three weeks being moved across the country from one Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) to another, in the process spending over twenty-five hours being transported in secured transit vans. During the course of his detention, he endured significant physical as well as emotional pressures from the detention authorities, including a forcible removal from Colnbrook IRC to Dover IRC. On June 16, an application lodged by his legal team to have him released on bail was successful despite strong opposition from the Home Office.
The circumstances of Hich’s initial arrest, as well as his subsequent treatment by the Home Office, sparked widespread protest from students and academics as well as tens of thousands of people worldwide. It has also generated extensive national and international media coverage.
Hicham’s immense contributions to the student, local and national communities are considerable, his deep roots in Nottingham well established and his track record as an activist, artist and intellectual a clear indication that he is an asset to his community and to the country at large. His removal would be a grave injustice and great loss to all.
The Free Hich campaign aims to raise awareness about Hich’s plight and to secure his right to stay in the UK.
About Us
We are friends and colleagues of Hicham Yezza, amongst the thousands of Nottingham University students and staff who have expressed our support for his case, have marched together against his deportation and who continue to fight against his persecution.
Some of us have known him for less than ten weeks, others for more than ten years, but we all have come to appreciate him for the kind, gifted, generous and unique individual he is.
His substantial contributions to our student and local community (whether as an activist, an intellectual, an artist or just a great human being) have been immense and deserve to be recognized and acknowledged.
Our aim is to raise awareness of his current plight and to help him fight his case. Our support for Hich is shared by the majority of Nottingham University members and we hope to succeed in ensuring the University of Nottingham authorities reflect this in their actions and public stances.
We have also gained support from tens of thousands of people from around the globe, including academics, artists, politicians, MPs, activists, community leaders and concerned citizens in the UK and beyond.
We urge you to join us and lend Hich your support.
Conact us at staffandstudents@gmail.com
16 responses so far ↓
1 Daniel Charters // May 26, 2008 at 2:12 pm
This is truely horrible and absolutely cannot be allowed to happen. I see a great deal of xenophobia emerging from the war on ‘terror’ and see this as a direct result of that. I will be at the march on wednesday 28th and I urge anyone else who is unsure to come along as well.
2 nawal saouli // May 28, 2008 at 6:05 pm
i have met hich 10 years ago he was very young
very entousiastic very hard working never had any problem we come from the same country as i m algerian too i can not believe the the real badys gets away with things i can easily use names but i m not going to ,hicham c est nawal
j espere que tous va s arranger ont va faire tous notre possible pur to sortire de la
d ont worry i m sure evry one shares the same opinion
love nawal steve et zinedine booth
3 Dr Brian Robinson // May 29, 2008 at 11:19 am
The authorities do seem to be in something of a panic and it’s driving them to act counter-productively in many instances. This seems a particularly blatant example and I support the campaign for his freedom - the authorities must issue a declaration of his innocence, with apologies for wrongful arrest.
4 DAVE WESTON // May 29, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Nottingham University should hang its head in shame.
5 nonewbrakes // May 29, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Take a look at this site, set up by yet more of his friends http://freehicham.co.uk/
6 KANTIDJA // Jun 2, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Free H. Z= free education and high search!!
7 nikki // Jun 2, 2008 at 7:13 pm
This is a disgrace! There is no real evidence that he has done anything wrong and to the contrary huge amounts of evidece about how much hes achieved and contributed to the university community at Nottingham. This is nothing more than an hysterical reaction, unfair and unjust. If England starts deporting people like this it will further incite anger and resentment amongst ethnic minorities in the uk.
We cant let that happen!
8 Hou // Jun 4, 2008 at 10:35 pm
salut hichem nous sommes tres fiers de toi .ce qui t arrive n est qu une epreuve de la vie continue a faire ce que tu as toujours fais et reste comme tu es brave honnete authentique et digne surtout .bisous tata hou
9 Valerio // Jun 6, 2008 at 10:32 am
Dear Hicham Yezza,
I have read about your story and I am enraged by what is happening to you. Not only your rights are being brutally abused, but also a criminal act of censorship against scholar research is being perpetrated. Totalitarian regimes always started by claiming national security was at stake. We are not there, but Europe has high fever.
Keep strong,
V.
10 Ashkan Azarkerdar // Jun 13, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I have worked with Hicham and can honestly say he is one of the most intelligent people I have met. He is of good character and has contributed positively to the academic and social atmosphere at Nottingham University. His achievements include the creation of the Voice Magazine and Re-Fresher’s Fare.
I hope that the Home office take his contributions to the lives of thousands of students at Nottingham University when considering his case.
11 P. R. Adamczyk-Haswell // Jul 9, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I contacted my MP about Hicham’s arrest and detention. He took this up with the UK Border Agency, whose Deputy Chief Executive replied to him. If you would like a scan of the reply, please let me know.
Peter
12 Support Hicham Yezza — Join Us! Lend Hich your support! // Nov 18, 2008 at 11:32 am
[...] to the Free Hicham campaign website, please take a few moments to read the “About” section and also the “How to help: Nine ways to help Hich” [...]
13 gangstalking // Dec 11, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I just added his story to the Gang Stalking World Website.
This story affects everyone. It shows the true state that the society has come to in just a few short years.
These tacticts and many more are being used to strip away the rights of so many people. It’s time that we all refused to live in fear and take back the power that we have given away.
We have given up all our freedom, for this false sense of security that will never come. Only we can ensure our furture security and safety, by ensuring that we do not let actions like this take place.
I wish you all the best.
14 An Injury to One is an Injury to All « Bones Without a Sense of Direction // Dec 30, 2008 at 12:24 pm
[...] an immigrant student and activist whose buffoonish arrest embarassed the government risks being depo… Solidarity with Hicham [...]
15 Talking With Hicham « Guantanamo Voices // Jan 23, 2009 at 11:18 am
[...] allowed to hold a job and has been completely supported financially by friend and donations to the FREE HICH group. When we met up Monday night, he was preparing to sell all his books to help pay legal [...]
16 Prog Gold » Blog Archive » Apathic students are good for business // Feb 25, 2009 at 12:02 pm
[...] the name of Hicham Yezza sounds familiar, it’s because he was the student arrested for supposedly downloading an Al Queda terrorism manual, which turned out to be made available at the U.S. Department of Justice website and who, once he [...]
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