The Stop-Lock Change Evictions Campaign held a demo outside the Court of Session in solidarity with lock-change victims in Glasgow and across the UK.
We were at the Court of Session in Edinburgh this morning to show solidarity with those affected by ongoing lock-change evictions in Glasgow, and to raise awareness of impending mass evictions on our streets.
Speakers from various organisations, campaigns and backgrounds came together to call on the Court of Session to treat destitute asylum seekers the same way as everybody else in Scotland. Scots law protects Scottish people from lock-change evictions without a court order – we call for everyone to be afforded this protection regardless of immigration status.
Our CEO Sabir Zazai
“We are now facing a significant humanitarian crisis in Glasgow. We expect Serco and the Home Office to begin evicting people on a mass scale in a matter of days, despite ongoing legal proceedings.
“While we recognise there are significant restrictions on what a local authority can do legally to help those with no recourse to public funds, in line with the Cosla [Convention of Scottish Local Authorities] national guidance and that of the Glasgow asylum taskforce [convened following last year’s eviction threats], these restrictions are not total and we call on the council to accelerate commitments to provide public premises for short-term, dignified accommodation in a time of genuine crisis.”
“The stark truth is there is nowhere safe, dignified and appropriate for lock-change victims to go, and Serco and the Home office know that. This needs to change and we need to accelerate our collective efforts now in the city.”
