A campaigner who joined in a mass protest against the detention of two men in Glasgow has said its success sends a message that the Home Office “shouldn’t act like the mafia”.
Police Scotland released the two Indian nationals detained by Border Force officials in the city after people surrounded their van and prevented it from leaving on Thursday.
Demonstrators in Kenmure Street, Pollokshields, had blocked the immigration enforcement van for hours, with one lying underneath the vehicle.
Around 200 protesters were at the scene, with chants of “Leave our neighbours, let them go” and “Cops go home” being heard as a ring of police stood around the van.
Mohammad Asif told the PA news agency: “People are fed up with a climate of fear… it was the people’s revolution, led by the people – ordinary people of Glasgow in Pollokshields.”
Proud to be a small part of it and even more proud to be a citizen of Scotland and living in the wonderful city of Glasgow. https://t.co/ZeezDNyh8t
— Mohammad N Asif (@MohammadAsif_1) May 14, 2021
Mr Asif director of the Afghan Human Rights Foundation, joined the protest from 10am until the men’s release shortly after 5pm.
The 54-year-old said he texted “nearly 600” people on Thursday encouraging them to join the protest, which was attended by hundreds of people from the local community.
Asked what message the protest’s success sends, Mr Asif said: “The Home Office shouldn’t act like the mafia, they should have a more humane way of removing people.
“We don’t say every person should come to the UK and live here, but we’ve been watching these dawn raids – myself for the past 20 years.
“The Home Office does it in a very brutal way… it’s like you’ve committed murder or rape – there are different ways to remove people without taking them from their bed.”
READ MORE: Kenmure Street: Nicola Sturgeon says Home Office must ask itself 'hard questions'
Mr Asif, who left Afghanistan as a refugee in 2000, said he visited the two men’s families during the protest.
“I spoke to the father and the old man was crying… their family members were all crying, shaking and shivering,” he said.
Mr Asif also condemned the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill – proposed legislation which will hand greater powers to police to shut down protests deemed overly noisy or disruptive.
Although the Bill only applies to England and Wales, Mr Asif said protests like the one in Glasgow would not be able to occur and campaigners outside of Scotland need to “stand up” to halt the legislation.
“My appeal to… my colleagues in England and other parts of the UK, they should stand up,” he said.
“If they let it go, the next time protests will be banned – if we allowed it, this would be a failure on our part.”
Mr Asif is Muslim and although Thursday marked the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr, which he would normally have spent with family, he and fellow protesters said they were prepared to stay at the scene.
It is understood neither of the men who were in the van is Muslim, but the Border Force action was widely criticised for taking place on Eid al-Fitr.
Mr Asif said: “We were there to stay as long as it took.
“I didn’t even see my family. Although it was a very special day for us… we missed that (Eid) – and we missed it for a reason. We stood against injustice.”
Many politicians in Scotland have condemned the actions of the Border Agency.
In response to the scenes, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “The Home Office needs to ask itself hard questions after today.
“Doing this on Eid, in the heart of our Muslim community, and in the midst of a serious Covid outbreak was staggeringly irresponsible – but the even deeper problem is an appalling asylum & immigration policy.”
READ MORE: Home Office picked the wrong city with Pollokshields' Kenmure Street raid
A Home Office spokeswoman said on Thursday: “The UK Government is tackling illegal immigration and the harm it causes, often to the most vulnerable people, by removing those with no right to be in the UK.
“The operation in Glasgow was conducted in relation to suspected immigration offences and the two Indian nationals complied with officers at all times.
“The UK Government continues to tackle illegal migration in all its forms and our New Plan for Immigration will speed up the removal of those who have entered the UK illegally.”
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