[ISNRV] VT Encampment for Palestine Update and Arrests

Assalam Alaikum Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Many of you may have heard of the VT encampment whichis a peaceful protest occurring on campus starting this past Friday, protesting the war in Gaza and requesting more direct action from the university regarding its stance on the war and civilian casualties. Many of our community members have been involved in these protests and were present there throughout the weekend.

Last night, the university, with the help of the local police, broke up the encampment and arrested protestors who remained on the GLC lawn after being asked to leave. To our knowledge, at least five of the arrested protestorswere members of our local muslim community. We are still collecting information but based on current knowledge, those arrested have been released withoutbail, have been charged with class 1 misdemeanors, and have had a court date set between May to July.

Based on the current information, we aren'taware of the exact legal/financial need for our community members. Thus, we ask that youdo not sendfunds to the ISNRV related to this issue at this time.

However, we will do everything possible for these communitymembers and are working to understand what future legal/financial support and needs are. After which, we will direct the community towards the most direct channels for contributing to the legal fees (if any are incurred) insha'allah. For those who would like to contribute now to the legal expenses of anyone who was arrested, they can do so via Venmo using@vt4palestine (Daniel Breslau). This is a verified account of a Virginia Tech professor who is involved with organizing the encampment and protests.

We ask Allah to grant justice to the people of Palestine, relieve them of their suffering, and bring them a lasting peace insha'allah.

ISNRV Shurah

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Islamic Society of New River Valley (ISNRV) Inc.
1284 North Main Street
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(540) 961-5210