FEE FOR YER LIFE

The occupation of Birmingham university occupation ended in a ruckus on Monday (17th) after a no holds barred eviction.

The peaceful sit in that began with 20 students and ended 8 hours later with violent confrontations between students and police has led to yet more questions regarding police tactics. As one student put it “all hell broke loose”.

The students were protesting budget cuts and redundancies that will be in effect by 2014 resulting in 200 job losses. They staged a sit in at the social learning space in the physics department. At 18:45, six security guards and two cops charged the doors. The students linked arms and attempted to form a human barrier.

Reports from witnesses state one female student was head butted, another got an unmerited punch in the chest whilst a third got jabbed in the face. One student standing nearby saw a male student being put into a headlock that threatened to strangle him as they both tried to walk into the occupied area. The policeman who delivered the head-butt claimed the girl had presented an obstacle as he was attempting to access the room and the collision was unfortunate.

By 7pm the remaining protesters had walked or been escorted out. No arrests were made. Three students are considering taking legal action and are at the moment seeking legal advice.