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Solihull Protest Against Deportations to DRC

Over 200 people protested today at the immigration reporting centre in Solihull, near Birmingham, against deportations to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The protest, organised by the Congo Support Project, was part of a UK-wide coordinated day of action to mark a "directions hearing" for the Country Guidance Tribunal regarding DRC asylum seekers.

There was a large and heavy-handed police presence and the protest was penned, twice, into the car park after protesters refused to stay in the tiny designated area on the grounds of Sandford House. Protesters, however, broke off after a while and blockaded the road for about 2 hours. Two people were arrested, one also assaulted by an aggressive cop. They were released later on but only because their fellow protesters, in an empowering show of solidarity, refused to leave the site before they were released.

the designated protest area on the grounds of Sandford House