Students arrested for urging Peres boycott

JERUSALEM, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Classmates say three Arab students of the Jerusalem College of Engineering were arrested for urging others to boycott a talk by Israeli President Shimon Peres.

The three were interrogated by officers from the Jerusalem District Police.

Police said the Arab students threatened other students and incited racism and were detained after a complaint was filed against them, Ynetnews reported.

The three were under one week of house arrest, police said.

Classmates came to their defense, with one saying: "The students that were arrested posted on the JCE Facebook page that they were not going to attend the lecture given by the president. They have the right to express their opinion and no one, not even the police, has the right to arrest them. It's a humiliation and it's discrimination."

Student activist Suheir As'ad from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem told Ynet: "This is an attempt to intimidate and silence Arab students, especially the activists. This is a serious incident and we don't take it lying down. We won't remain silent in the face of academic terror."