Tasnim (she/they) is a working-class artist in need of your help to cover one months' basic living costs, debt relief incurred during the legal process and trial support.

Tasnim was violently arrested during a protest last year. Since then her mental health has deteriorated. She has struggled with PTSD which has subsequently impacted her ability to work as a freelance artist. Although she has been making work, the state of our arts industry has meant that most of her efforts go unpaid or underpaid. We are therefore asking for your help a third time, the support of her community to see her through this (we hope) final stage.

On the 2nd of May 2024, Tasnim was arrested in Peckham (along with over 43 other brave individuals) answering a call by organisers to stop a raid on refugees and asylum seekers who were being sent to Bibby Stockholm barge.

The barge itself had already been condemned by the Home Affairs Select Committee, who warned that conditions were “clearly contributing to a decline in mental health” and could amount to “violations of the human rights of asylum seekers.” In January this year, after a string of scandals, dangerously unsanitary conditions and the entirely preventable suicide of a resident, the Bibby Stockholm was finally closed.

Yet, after 19 months of postponements and legal limbo, Tasnim and others are still being prosecuted— not for harming anyone, but for standing against a racist system that seeks to criminalise protest and dehumanise migrants. Tasnim will go to court for her trial for a third time on 9 October 2025.

"Thank you for using your voice when so many others stayed silent." ― A man who was previously detained on the Bibby Stockholm barge

We are now fundraising to cover her basic living costs, pay back debts incurred throughout the legal process and mental health care provision as she prepares for her third trial. Her legal fees are being covered by a separate fundraiser which you can also donate to: https://opencollective.com/southwark--copwatch/projects/support-people-resisting-prison-barge-transfers-raids-detention-london

Your support will also help her to heal and to continue to share her powerful story. Every donation makes a difference—let’s stand with Tasnim!

Other ways to support, including attending her trial solidarity demo, check out this link: https://linktr.ee/solidaritywithlyra