KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Well-known Knoxville restaurateur Yassin Terou has been indicted by a Knox County Grand Jury more than a year after his arrest at a peaceful protest on the University of Tennessee campus.
Terou, the owner of Yassin’s Falafel House, faces one count of criminal trespassing stemming from the on-campus gathering for Nakba Vigil Day on May 15, 2024. 11 people were arrested, including three students and eight people not affiliated with the university.
Investigation into Yassin’s complaint against UT Police complete
Campus authorities reportedly told the protesters that the space they were occupying was not reserved, as they had reserved a different space across the street at the Student Union Cumberland Plaza, which was reserved for them through Saturday. They were told to vacate the space, but Terou and others did not leave.
He filed a complaint against the University of Tennessee Police Department following the incident, claiming existing nerve damage in his arm was exacerbated by arresting officers. An internal UTPD investigation deemed the complaint “unfounded or exonerated.”
Lawsuit filed against University of Tennessee over pro-Palestinian protest arrests
According to the United Nations, Nakba is used to refer to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. In 2022, the UN General Assembly requested May 15, 2023, to commemorate the anniversary…