Salma Hamamy, a U of M student who was among those charged by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, speaking to protestors in front of the 15th District Court Building in Ann Arbor. Sept. 20, 2024. Photo by Jon King.
A pro-Palestinian coalition of University of Michigan student groups say authorities have weaponized the legal system to quash their protests and have called on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to drop what they say are “politicized” charges.
The TAHRIR coalition, made up of approximately 90 student groups, held a press conference Friday in front of the 15th District Court building in Ann Arbor to protest charges filed earlier this month by Nessel’s office against 11 individuals in connection to protests at the University of Michigan.
One of those charged was Salma Hamamy, president of Students Allied for Freedom & Equality (SAFE), which has been one of the groups leading the protest movement at U of M.
Hamamy has yet to be arraigned but identified herself as being among those charged. According to online court records, she faces a single count of trespassing, a 30-day misdemeanor, for failing to vacate a tent encampment set up on the university’s Diag this spring when university police moved in to clear it on May 21.