3 Sussex students cleared of charges

It was announced this morning that three students from Sussex Uni  have been cleared of criminal charges. The Court case took place between Tuesday 11^th and Wednesday 12^th February for Kristina Ilieva, Sarah Becca and Caradog Jones.

The trio were charged with obstructing police during the eviction of protesting students from Bramber House. The eviction took place in the spring of 2013, following an occupation which lasted eight weeks. The occupation, which started on February 7th 2013, was against the outsourcing and privatisation of university services which would have affected 235 jobs.

The University permitted the demonstration and occupation initially, but sought to ban further protest and to evict the occupiers following a massive demonstration on March 25^th 2013, when hundreds of students from other universities flocked en masse to campus to support the campaign.

One source said the eviction on April 3rd was ” violent” and “heavy handed”, they state that “nearly 100 police officers were called to Sussex campus to evict 50 peaceful students”.They highlight that the charges seem arbitrary, as only three out of fifty students were charged “without having committed a crime”.

The fight against the privatisation of Uni services is both growing and ongoing, with protests taking place at universities all over the country including Birmingham and Warwick. Last term, Sussex’s Occupy campaign received a staggering response with celebrity supporters including Cara Delevigne, Frankie Boyle and a host of other famous faces including Peter Capaldi, our soon-to-be Dr Who. Occupy Sussex continue to hold meetings, demonstrations, and adorn campus with their token yellow squares.

The Tab will keep you posted on any future developments. Have a look at our Facebook or Twitter for more stuff from the Tab.