The final film in the Human Rights Film Series at the Broadway Cinema, ‘Elite Squad’ (Tropa de Elite), will be shown on Sunday 26th October at 6pm.

José Padilha’s high-octane thriller follows Nascimento, the captain of an elite military-style squad that fights police corruption and drug trafficking in the Rio favelas. Hellbent on leaving his job due to the encroachments of impending fatherhood, mayhem turns to chaos when Nascimento recruits two honest cops to train as his potential replacement. A full-on, stylish and indisputably impressive film.

“A tough and realistic cop story that stays believable from beginning to end while delivering the truth about loyalty, courage and gut-wringing fear on an inner city military mission with no second chances.” - Monsters and Critics

The film will be introduced by Prof. Else Vieira (Queen Mary, University of London). The screening will be followed by a Q and A session.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Broadway Cinema. Student tickets: £3.

Hicham Yezza is to speak at the University of Nottingham Students’ Union One World Week on Thursday 23rd October. The talk, entitled ‘Human rights post 9/11‘ will take place at 7pm in room C50 in the Portland Building on the main campus.

One World Week, running from 20th to 24th October, is a week of events with environmental, multicultural or human-rights themes. This year the theme is ‘Human Rights, at home and abroad’. It is organised jointly by the Environment & Social Justice and the Equal Opportunities Committees of the Students’ Union. In the past we have had photo exhibitions, interactive stalls and competitions, special forums and visiting international speakers. It’s impossible to avoid, so come along and join in the fun!

The programme of events is available here. If you are interested in running an event, getting involved or just want to know some more then please contact Matt, your Environment and Social Justice Officer at suenvironment@nottingham.ac.uk [Read more →]

Hicham has been invited by Amnesty International to give a talk this tuesday (21st Oct) about the erosion of civil liberties. The talk will be to discuss his case and the role of the University, the Police and the Home Office

Venue: The Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, Wilkins Building, UCL, Gower Street (For directions and map click here) Date/Time: 21st Oct @ 7PM
Free Entry

The third film in the Human Rights Film Series at the Broadway Cinema is ‘The Edge of Heaven’ (Auf der anderen Seite) on Sunday 19th October at 6pm.

An intricately plotted, multi-layered drama, The Edge of Heaven moves from Germany to Turkey and back again, and captures the ways that a globalized world can break our hearts, and repair them, too.

The film will be introduced by Dr Alexander Vasudevan (University of Nottingham). The screening will be followed by a Q and A session.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Broadway Cinema. Student tickets: £3.

Moazzam Begg, bestselling author of “Enemy Combatant” and former Guantanamo Bay detainee, will speak at the University on the “War on Terror, Islamophobia and Civil Liberties”.

Hicham was invited on the 21st September to speak at this year’s Labour Party Annual Conference in Manchester. He appeared at a meeting on a panel alongside Nottingham South MP Alan Simpson, legendary politician Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn MP as well as prominent Trade Union leaders. The meeting was entitled “Do not let your mind become occupied territory” and was hosted by Labour Against the War.

Hicham spoke of his experience in detention as well as his current ongoing fight for justice. Alan Simpson described the audience’s reaction, saying ” [Hicham] had the whole room just in stunned silence when he talked through in very reasonable terms about the catalogue of ways in which he has been systematically sabotaged as a character”. He also expressed delight at the powerful effect Hicham’s contribution had had on those present.

During his speech, attended by a host of MPs and political journalists, Hicham argued that his and Rizwan Sabir’s arrests at the University of Nottingham in May had contributed to create a climate of fear amongst muslim students. The Nottingham Evening Post reported on the speech and later published a letter of response from the University which confirmed no muslim students had so far contacted the University authorities about their concerns.

[Read more →]

The latest issue of Impact Magazine - the official magazine of the University of Nottingham Students’ Union - debates the rights and wrongs of the arrests of Hicham Yezza and Rizwaan Sabir at the University of Nottingham in May.

The Debate
Published in News on 14 August 2008

What happened? On May 15 2008, two university members - a student and a member of staff - were arrested under the Terrorism Act (2000) because they possessed copies of the ‘Al-Qaeda Training Manual’ which had been downloaded from the United States Department of Justice website. An extended version of the same document is available for sale in book form on Amazon.com. The student, a member of the university’s Politics and International Relations department, was researching terrorism for his postgraduate studies and was being advised by a friend of his, who was a former student and administrative member of staff. Both men were held in police custody for six days before being released without charge.
The Terrorism Act (2000) stipulates that: ‘A person commits an offence if he possesses an article in circumstances which give rise to a reasonable suspicion that his possession is for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism.’

Aimee Allam

Has academic freedom been attacked? Excerpts from the ongoing debate…
Yes
Professor Scott Lucas

This is not a question of ‘access (to) and research (of) terrorist materials.’ No page or picture frame or moving image is ‘terrorist’ in and of itself. It is how that material is used to fan the flames of division and hostility that can lead to acts of violence. The problem was never the typeset pages of Mein Kampf; rather, it was in the use of those pages to justify bigotry, racism, war and genocide… [Read more →]

Hicham’s legal case is still ongoing after a second hearing was held on September 3rd at Nottingham Crown Court. The hearing went well and a date for a “legal arguments” hearing and a trial has been set for the end of November 2008. In a positive development, the more serious of the two charges that the prosecution intended to bring against him has now been dropped. The judge also raised the matter of the public interest value of prosecuting Hicham, a point which has already been made by the Free Hich campaign and many members of the legal profession.

Following the hearing, Hicham was interviewed by local and national media about the progress and expressed his delight that the case was drawing nearer to a conclusion. He was also pleased that he was now having his day in court after initially being denied this right by the Home Office’s attempts to deport him.

Hicham continues to need urgent financial assistance with his legal costs, please donate generously if you can. (Details can be found here).

Following the sell-out last Sunday you are advised to buy tickets in advance for the screening of Standard Operating Procedure at the Broadway Cinema at 6:00 pm on Sunday October 12. The film is part of a series that addresses issues raised by the arrests of Hicham Yezza and Rizwaan Sabir at the University of Nottingham.

A documentary by the well-known film-maker, Errol Morris, Standard Operating Procedure focuses on the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib. Drawing on the now infamous photographs of abuse as well as interviews with American soldiers, the film raises important questions about the role and representation of torture during the war in Iraq.

The film will be introduced by Prof. Alex Danchev (University of Nottingham). The screening will be followed by a Q and A session.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Broadway Cinema. Student tickets: £3.