ATHENS, Ga. - The Georgia chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations is calling on the University of Georgia to drop charges against a group of students arrested or suspended during pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
The six students were among the 16 members of the group Students for Justice of Palestine who were arrested on April 29 after setting up an encampment on the Old College Front Lawn at the university's North Campus.
After refusing to follow orders from campus police to remove their tents and leave the area, officers and Georgia State troopers demolished the encampment and took the group into custody on criminal trespassing charges.
Following their arrests, the students say they were placed on interim suspension and barred from campus, leading them to be evicted from student housing, kicked out of leadership positions at university organizations, and forced to fail or drop classes.
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RAW VIDEO: Police arrest protesters at UGA
University of Georgia students and other activists were arrested by police and Georgia State troopers after setting up an encampment on campus to protest the violence in Gaza. (Courtesy of Keegan Brooks)
After filing an appeal of their suspensions, a panel ruled in July that they would remain suspended through the fall semester. The students will also remain on probation for the remainder of their academic careers at the university.
On Monday, CAIR and the six students held a news conference asking UGA to drop all disciplinary charges.
"UGA violated the Georgia FORUM Act the minute the administrators told protesters to move their demonstration and UGA violated the first amendment when it had students arrested and suspended them," First Amendment and civil rights attorney Samantha Hamilton said at the press conference. "We call upon UGA to publicly apologize to the student protesters and reinstate them,"
The students can appeal the ruling to the university’s vice president of student affairs.