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Charges against protesters withdrawn

- Lee-Anne Bruce

Charges against 141 protesting workers and students withdrawn.

An estimated 141 people were arrested at a peaceful protest against outsourcing outside the University of Johannesburg on Friday 6 November. They were then taken to the Brixton Police Station where they waited for several hours outside to be charged and given access to legal representation. Staff from CALS and a number of other legal teams were on hand to assist and worked tirelessly to secure free bail for all those arrested. The workers and students were finally all released between 12:00 and 18:00 on Saturday and ordered to appear at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court today.  

Workers and students gathered on Ntemi Piliso Street early this morning. After a few hours’ wait, prosecutors announced that the charges would be withdrawn pending further investigations. CALS is very pleased with today’s result.

We would like to thank all those individuals and organisations who worked round the clock to assist the arrested workers and students, offering everything from food and blankets to legal support. We would especially like to thank the Socio-Economic Rights Institute, SECTION27, the Muslim Lawyers Association, Flatela Attorneys, the Brixton Community Forum, the Right 2 Know Campaign, the South African Human Rights Commission, and advocates from the Johannesburg Bar.

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