Indian-origin student Achinthya Sivalingam has been arrested and banned from Princeton University in the US, pending a disciplinary process, for participating in an unauthorised student-led pro-Palestine encampment protest within the campus premises. The development comes amid continued protests at major universities across the US against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
On Thursday morning, student protesters had set up tents in the University's McCosh Courtyard despite warnings from authorities, the Princeton Alumni Weekly reported.
Within minutes, the two students were arrested, which led to the protesters packing up their tents while continuing to stage a sit-in demonstration.
At the protest site, Max Weiss, an associate professor of history at Princeton University, announced, “Long live the solidarity, brilliance, and fearlessness of these brave Princeton students who put their bodies, privilege, and safety on the line when Palestinians are being subjected to unimaginable violence."
“Any individual involved in an encampment, occupation, or other unlawful disruptive conduct who refuses to stop after a warning will be arrested and immediately barred from campus. For students, such exclusion from campus would jeopardise their ability to complete the semester," she said in her email.
According to a tally by the Reuters news agency, nearly 550 arrests have been made in the past one week.
