Before Thursday, 13 May 2021, few people beyond Glasgow’s southside had ever heard of Kenmure Street. But when its diverse community came together in their hundreds that day to block a raid by UK immigration officials, their action was celebrated internationally and the location made a byword for community spirit and inspirational activism.
Much coverage focused on the jubilant, communal atmosphere – families celebrating the first day of Eid joined seasoned activists, a pop-up tuck shop was established in a bus stop, and local Pollokshields businesses donated food and water to protesters.
The successful action saw the two detained Indian men – Sumit Sehdev, a chef, and Lakhvir Singh, a mechanic, suspected of overstaying their visas – released to rapturous cheers after an eight-hour standoff.
But now, a year on, some protesters remain locked in a bitter battle with police as they fight the charges they received that day.
Police 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 public order offences and sent a report to the procurator fiscal. The three were told earlier this year that the state intends to proceed with prosecutions, with trial dates set for early August.
Now, dubbed “the Kenmure Street Three”, they have launched a petition to have their charges dropped, alongside an appeal for footage that could help their defence, and a call for the public to lobby MPs about the case.
The three protesters characterise 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 launching the petition.
“They were there to enable the kidnapping of two men by the racist Home Office. We were just resisting this, just as many of you and thousands of others were, but we were brutalised and locked up, and are now facing a repressive and distressing court process.”
Their account of the day chimes with those of other protesters who describe overbearing and aggressive policing. Beth Douglas, 28, joined the protest after seeing callouts on social media, and was met with “the heaviest police presence I have ever seen in Glasgow”. “It wasn’t a presence to allow for a safe protest but instead an army to intimidate protesters,” she said.
Glasgow-based human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, who successfully negotiated with police on the ground for the release of the two detained Indian men, who had lived in Scotland for more than 10 years, described the police presence at the time as “inflammatory and provocative”. His firm has since taken on the cases of the Kenmure Street Three.
“It is disappointing that Police Scotland should proceed with charges against anyone at the protest that day,” says Anwar. He confirmed that “van man”, an activist who lay beneath an immigration van for eight hours, was not among those facing prosecution after police agreed during negotiations on the ground to take no action against him.
One protester, who wished to remain anonymous, witnessed and filmed the arrests. “The protesters who got arrested did absolutely nothing different to the rest of us,” they said. “It seemed like the police just picked a few people at random to remind everyone that they could, and very much would, arrest us. It seemed unnecessary and brutal as the whole thing was completely peaceful.”
A spokesperson for Police Scotland confirmed the arrests and said it had received no complaints in relation to the protest. “Police Scotland is a rights-based organisation,” they said. “This means that we will protect the rights of people who wish to peacefully protest or counter-protest, balanced against the rights of the wider community.”
The Crown Office and procurator fiscal confirmed three active cases were due in court on 3 and 4 August.
While those arrested hope their charges will be dropped before trial, the decision to proceed with prosecution is seen as provocative by activists.
“Action like this will only make us come together more and will unite our communities to resist,” said Savan Qadir of Glasgow’s No Evictions Network, who coordinated a response on the day. “They can’t prosecute us all for standing up for what is morally right.”