The
University of Nottingham
in the UK has become the centre of several major protests in recent
weeks after handing over a foreign-born member of staff to authorities
for printing an abridged version of an al-Qaeda training manual.
Noticing
the employee, Hicham Yezza, a native of Algeria and an ex-student, was
printing the document, the university contacted Nottingham police.
Yezza
was the friend of one of the University's students, Rizwaan Sabir, who
was researching a Masters dissertation on Islamic extremism and had
requested that Yezza print the material for him.
Both men were
arrested and detained under the British Terrorism Act on May 14, held
for six days and released without charge on May 20.
The case has
raised the ire of some British citizens concerned with what is
perceived as a violation of a right and imperative to investigate and
examine all aspects of politics and religion, including and especially
contentious areas such as Islamic extremism.
The argument has
also been made that the subjects at not point behaved in a suspicious
or irregular manner and the material in question was publicly available
via US government website.
The issue of possible racial profiling has been raised.
Following
his release, Yezza was re-arrested on immigration grounds and scheduled
for deportation to Algeria on June 1, without hearing.
At present, heavy campaigning in the UK appears to have stayed the deportation, until after a judicial review.
By Rachael Bolton