After an eight-hour protest by neighbours in the Scottish city of Glasgow, two Indian men being held in a detention van on 바카라suspected immigration offences바카라 walked free with the help of a human rights lawyer.
Sumit Sehdev, a chef, and Lakhvir Singh, a mechanic, both in their 30s, have reportedly been in the UK for 10 years.
Six UK Immigration Enforcement officers, backed by Police Scotland, removed them from their home in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow on Thursday and put them into a van heading to a detention centre, but were soon surrounded by a large crowd of protesters determined to free them.
바카라This was a cynical and provocative action by the Home Office to do it on the day of Eid. To be honest, they don바카라t give a damn about the lives of these people, but the people of Glasgow do,바카라 Aamer Anwar, a Pakistani-origin human rights lawyer, told 바카라ITV News바카라.
바카라This city is built on the backs of refugees, people who바카라ve given their blood, sweat and tears to build this city. We stand firmly with these men,바카라 he said.
Lakhvir Singh spoke in Punjabi about how he feared for what would happen when the officers took them into custody in the van and tearfully thanked the people of his neighbourhood for turning out to support them.
The duo then walked down the street with Anwar towards the local mosque, with the estimated hundreds gathered cheering and clapping, waving placards that read 바카라refugees are welcome바카라.
Videos posted across the social media channels showed protesters chanting 바카라Leave our neighbours, let them go바카라 and 바카라Cops go home바카라 during the nearly eight-hour-long standoff.
"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 바카라 but the even deeper problem is an appalling asylum and immigration policy,바카라 said Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Twitter, who had appealed directly with the UK Home Office to stand down.
A Home Office statement said the operation was 바카라conducted in relation to suspected immigration offences바카라.
Eventually, Police Scotland said it had to make an operational decision to protect the 바카라safety, public health and well-being바카라 and the two men were released on bail and returned home to their families.
(With PTI inputs.)
