Help us defend the right to protest on our campuses!
We are witnessing intensified repression and criminalisation of student-led protests, and your support is as crucial as ever to fight back.
Since October 2023, university managements across the UK have escalated a pattern of aggressive tactics aimed at suppressing student-led protests. Disciplinary measures have been weaponised against individual students, while universities have pursued costly legal action and even police force to remove protest organisers and dismantle encampments.
Beyond direct crackdowns on demonstrations, universities have sought to stifle, censor, and monitor lawful political expression and activism. The right to protest and freedom of speech on university campuses are being eroded, with consequences that extend far beyond higher education and into wider civil society.
There are currently two cases before the High Court where UK Universities are attempting to severely restrict student activism both on and off their campuses by seeking injunctions against wide-ranging groups of ‘persons unknown’ from carrying out protest and solidarity actions for Palestine on or around university campus.
On the 29 October 2024, the High Court ordered an interim injunction on the application of the University of London against three named student defendants, alongside ‘Persons Unknown’ in connection with campus at SOAS University. It prevents protest in connection with Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions from taking place on campus, or from interfering with people’s access to the land. This means restrictions are in place on protesters even when they are not on the University’s land. These students also risk significant costs being made against them, to cover the University’s legal costs, if their defence is not successful. This case is due to return before the court later this year.
On 27 February 2025, the High Court of Justice refused to make an injunction sought by the University of Cambridge on 12 February, which aimed to ban all Palestine-related protests at four university sites until 2030. Instead, the court made a short 2-day injunction just covering the site of a graduation ceremony. This injunction has already expired. While this considered a huge win for the student movement, the battle is far from over, as the judge also listed the application for a return hearing on 19 March 2025. The ELSC has intervened to clarify the impact these orders would have to the court, and to defend the rights and freedoms of all Palestine advocates on campus.
There are significant concerns about the scope and extent of these injunctive orders and their ability to undermine the civil liberties of students and other groups.
It is essential that these applications are robustly challenged.
We are working hard to prevent injunctions being made in both cases. If either one is successful, it could be used as a template of repression for other universities to follow.
How can you help?
The costs of challenging these injunctions could be as much as GBP 15,000 each to cover legal and court fees, amongst other potential costs associated with seeing these cases through.
- Please consider contributing to this important cause. Any amount, big or small, can help support the defendants, and on a larger scale, ensure that the rights to free speech and assembly remain upheld and protected at our universities.
- Any funds left over after covering the legal expenses will be dedicated to other ongoing cases of state repression against Palestine advocacy in the UK.
- You can also support by sharing this page on your social media channels and within your personal networks.
Collective action is more urgent than ever. Students have long been at the forefront of movements for social change, and we will continue to stand alongside them to protect this legacy.
It's time for us to stand in solidarity and take action!
Why Your Support Matters:
Across the UK, scholars, students, and student organisations who bravely spoke out in support of Palestinian liberation and raised their voices against Israel's genocidal onslaught on Gaza, have faced a barrage of vilification in the media and online threats. An increasing number of individuals are now confronting very serious disciplinary and legal actions, including visa refusals, revocations, and counter-terrorism charges. This crackdown disproportionately affects the most marginalised members of our community, including Palestinian, Muslim, and women of colour scholars and students.
This alarming trend is exacerbated by recent announcements from UK government officials that further restrict free speech and the right to protest. The chilling effect is undeniable, and it builds upon the existing Prevent strategy, which disproportionately targets communities of color, especially Muslims, while stifling critical dissent.
We need to act in solidarity, united against state repression of free speech!