On Friday 21st November, Hicham will introduce a screening of “Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media”.The screening will be at 7PM in room C11 (Portland Building, Nottingham University Main Campus).

Hich will talk about the continuing relevance of this landmark multi-award-winning documentary which discusses mass media, propaganda and thought control in democratic societies. This event is part of the Nottingham Student Peace Movement’s Cinema Pacifico film series. For a list of past and future screenings please click here.

For any queries please contact staffandstudents@gmail.com

Welcome to the Free Hicham campaign website, please take a few moments to read the “About” section and also the “How to help: Nine ways to help Hich” page.

As many of you know, Hich refused the offer to have all charges dropped against him in exchange for leaving the country quietly but he needs our help to ensure his legal case is fought properly.

We are grateful to the thousands of people who have already joined the ranks of the campaign, your donations, legal advice, letters, emails and good wishes have already made a difference.

We hope our support will ensure Hich’s contributions to the community and the UK are acknowledged. Please continue to visit the website for updates on the case.

The Free Hich campaign

ITV News ran a piece on Saturday, Nov 15th about the Free Hich campaign, it mentionned Hicham’s current legal fight, his delight to finally get his day in court and the impressive continued success of the Free Hich campaign.

The piece can be seen here (at the 1:15 minute mark) and also discusses the Feature Documentary currently being filmed about the campaign by a Franco-Italian production team.

Hicham was a guest speaker at a Media Workers Against the War (MWAW) conference that took place at the London School of Economics on Saturday Nov 15th 2008. The theme of the conference was “Islam, War and the Media”

Fellow speakers included Moazzam Begg, Louise Christian, Peter Obourne, Nick Davies and Lyndsey Germain.

The Free Hich campaign was a recurrent theme at the various discussions,  the conference was attended by more than 200 journalists and media workers.

Hich will give a talk on Thursday Nov 13th on the topic of “The Muslim student experience, Civil Liberties and Islamophobia on campus”. The talk is hosted by the Nottingham University Islamic Society.

Time: 4:30PM, THU 13th Nov
Location: East Concourse Lounge, The Portland Building, Nottingham University Main Campus

Here is a list of Free Hich events for the next two weeks. Please consult the full details on the events page.

NOVEMBER
Wednesday 5th - Hich to talk at Nottingham Law School
Saturday 8th - Hich to address Academic Freedom Roundtable, Nottingham University
Monday 10th - Hich to chair Pr Norman Finkelstein Talk
Tuesday 11th - Hich to address London Stop the War meeting
Thursday 13th -Hich to address Nottingham University Islamic Society
Thursday 13th - Hich to talk at Loughborough Politics/Debating societies
Saturday 15th - Hich to address LSE Media Conference (Co-speakers include Peter Oborne, Lyndsey Germain and Nick Davies)
Saturday 22nd - Hich to address NUS Black Students conference
DECEMBER
Wednesday 10th - Hich to address Human Rights public meeting (Co-speakers include Pr AC Grayling and Vivienne Westwood)

Please email staffandstudent@gmail.com if you have any queries.

Hich will be chairing a talk to be given on Monday Nov 10 2008 by the internationally renowned US scholar and academic Norman Finkelstein. The talk will touch upon a variety of topics notably the Middle East Peace Process and Academic Freedom. The talk is hosted by the Nottingham University Palestinian Society and the Free Hich campaign.

Details of the talk are:

Time: 4PM , 10 Nov 2008                                                                                        

Location: The Great Hall, The University of Nottingham Main Campus, NG7 2RD                          

Hicham Yezza will participate at a round table on ’Civil Liberties, Islamophobia And The War On Terror’ organised by the Hackney Stop the War Coalition on Tuesday 11 November 2008 at 7.30pm at Round Chapel, Powerscroft Road, London, E5.

Hich will be joined by Louise Christian, a Human Rights Lawyer and Chris Nineham, a National officer of the Stop the War Coalition.

More information is available here.

The 12th Annual Political Studies Association (PSA) Postgraduate Conference for Central and Northern England on Saturday 8th November 2008 will include a roundtable discussion on ‘Terror and academic freedom’. The roundtable will take place in Room B1, Law & Social Sciences Building, University of Nottingham from 13.45 until 15.00.

Speakers will include: Hicham Yezza, Former terror detainee and editor of ‘Ceasefire’ magazine; Vanessa Pupavac, Lecturer in International Relations, University of Nottingham; and, Gearóid Ó Cuinn: Human Rights Law Centre, University of Nottingham.

The roundtable will be chaired by Annemarie Peen Rodt, Centre for International Crisis Management and Conflict Resolution, University of Nottingham and Jennifer Martinez, Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice, University of Nottingham, will be a discussant.

More infromation about the conference is available here.

At 7:00am on Monday 29 September, Selina Adda and her two children Brian (8) and Chelsea (3) were getting ready as usual to go to St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Primary school in Wilford. There was a knock at the door and 8 immigration officers forced entry into their house and half an hour later, they were on their way to Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre. They were not given any food until late in the evening and the children spent the day in a state of high anxiety.

The case has been extensively covered in the Nottingham Evening Post here, here, here, here, here and here, Further information about the case, which Alan Simpson MP is supporting, is available here and there is an online petition here. The campaign can be contacted by emailing arthur@sdw.co.uk.