Nottingham Indymedia: 'nottingham_two'

Support grows for Uni of Nottingham whistleblower

Sun, 15 May 2011 08:50:59 +0000

There has been growing anger at the University of Nottingham’s attempts to silence Dr Rod Thornton, author of a critical article which exposes the complicity of university management in the wrongful arrests of the ‘Nottingham Two’. A student and a member of staff – Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza – were arrested as suspected terrorists in May 2008. On Tuesday 10th May, a letter calling for Thornton’s immediate reinstatement, signed by 70 leading academics and scholars from across the world, including Professors Noam Chomsky, Neera Chandhoke, Paul Gilroy and Charles Tripp, was published in the Guardian. On Thursday 12th May, a protest was held on campus.

On the newswire: Nttm 3! Dr.Thornton, Rizwaan Sabir & Hitcham Yezza | Call to reinstate Rod Thornton | The paper Nottingham Uni doesn’t want you to read

Previous features Censorship at University of Nottingham | New light shed on the Nottingham Two | Campaign Victories As Hich And Amdani Are Released On Bail | Hundreds Join Demo for Academic Freedom and Against Deportation | Nottingham Uni Detainee Innocent But Still Facing Deportation | Anger Over “Terror Arrests” at Nottingham University

University whistleblower suspended

Wed, 04 May 2011 18:39:08 +0000

Dr Rod Thornton was suspended this afternoon by Nottingham University for exposing how the university caused the arrest of two innocent men as suspected terrorists. The new whistle-blowing report from Dr Thornton – ‘How a student’s use of a library book became a “major Islamist plot”’ – exposed how senior University management reported the men and undertook a subsequent campaign to discredit them for being in possession of three publicly available documents, all available from the university’s own library.

'Al-Qaeda Arrest' Whistleblower Silenced

Wed, 04 May 2011 08:59:03 +0000

The website of the British International Studies Association [1] has removed a whistle-blowing article written by Dr Rod Thornton [2], a former soldier turned academic who served in a counter-terrorism role in Northern Ireland. Dr Thornton’s article – ‘How a student’s use of a library book became a “major Islamist plot”’ - exposes how senior management at the University of Nottingham caused two men of ethnic minority background – Rizwaan Sabir, an MA student and Hicham Yezza, a member of staff - to be arrested and detained for six days under the Terrorism Act 2000 [3]. The removal of his article has allegedly come as a result of pressure on the website’s editors by the University of Nottingham, ahead of its general release to the public and media today.