Students Face Disciplinary Actions for Pro-Palestine Activism at UK University Amid Broader Crackdown
Their case has raised concerns among rights groups and observers, who warn of a wider suppression of pro-Palestinian solidarity across UK campuses.
The European Legal Support Centre (ELSC), a group advocating for legal rights, has stepped in to support Ali and Listrat, presenting legal documents to the university’s misconduct panel ahead of their hearing scheduled for April 7, Arab News reported on Thursday.
The students had called for their university to divest from arms companies supplying the Israeli military—a demand echoing broader sentiments amid widespread pro-Palestinian activism in response to the Israeli war in Gaza.
Concerns about the disciplinary proceedings have been voiced by various public figures. Coventry MP Zarah Sultana described the move as an infringement on democratic freedoms, while UN Special Rapporteur Gina Romero expressed apprehension over alleged intimidation faced by the students.
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Both Ali and Listrat hold elected positions within the university's student body, with Ali serving as ethnic minorities officer and Listrat as guild president, highlighting their engagement with campus leadership.
“The disciplinary process against Antonia and me is a blatant attempt to suppress dissent and silence the wider student movement," Ali said, adding, “This authoritarian crackdown is not just an attack on our right to protest — it is a display of institutional Islamophobia and bureaucratic repression. The student movement for Palestine is stronger than ever. Instead of charging students, the University of Birmingham must focus on divesting from companies complicit in genocide and war crimes.”
The ELSC echoed her concerns, stating that such punitive measures contradict the democratic rights of students. The organization further cautioned that these campus crackdowns, involving police and private security, create a "chilling effect" on student activism.
Reports suggest that these incidents are part of a larger trend across UK universities, with disciplinary actions affecting over 113 students at 28 institutions since October 2023, according to investigations by Sky News and Liberty Investigates.
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The ELSC has urged the University of Birmingham to abandon disciplinary actions and uphold its legal obligations to protect freedom of speech, expression, and assembly.
Protesting is “an integral part of campus life” that signifies a “healthy and progressive society,” Listrat said.
“As far-right rhetoric rises throughout the world, we need to make a huge effort to protect our rights and uphold international law and morality," she said, adding, “Enabling genocide and profiting from human rights violations is quite a violent stance that the University of Birmingham has taken. Funding genocide is violent; protesting genocide is peaceful.”
Source: Agencies
