{"id":3767,"date":"2024-09-04T12:27:50","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T10:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.elsc.support\/?p=3767"},"modified":"2025-04-14T12:43:27","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T10:43:27","slug":"disclosed-emails-reveal-tory-ministers-secret-personal-request-to-cancel-a-palestinian-students-visa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/disclosed-emails-reveal-tory-ministers-secret-personal-request-to-cancel-a-palestinian-students-visa\/","title":{"rendered":"Disclosed emails reveal Tory Minister\u2019s secret personal request to cancel a Palestinian student\u2019s visa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">LONDON, 04 SEPTEMBER 2024: Disclosed emails reveal that the Government\u2019s decision to cancel the visa of a 20-year-old Palestinian student from the UK was instigated personally by Robert Jenrick MP, the then Immigration Minister and a current Conservative leadership candidate.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Troubling <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IzECZngbJt\">https:\/\/t.co\/IzECZngbJt<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1835877526129815966?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">September 17, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C_Tg5U3IoSs\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C_Tg5U3IoSs\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <div style=\" display: flex; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C_Tg5U3IoSs\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by AFTE Egypt (@afteegypt)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Following an interview Dana Abu Qamar gave to Sky News on 8 October 2023, in which she expressed support for the right of Palestinians to resist the illegal Israeli occupation in accordance with international law, Jenrick\u2019s private secretary wrote to Home Office officials to indicate that \u201c<em>the Minister is interested in finding out about Dana Abu Qama<\/em>r<em>\u201d <\/em>and to enquire whether it would be <em>\u201cpossible to revoke her student visa<\/em>\u201d. The failure to follow any established referral process raises serious concerns about political influence in individual immigration decisions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">On 1 December 2023, the Home Office cancelled Ms Abu Qamar\u2019s student visa on the grounds that her presence in the UK was not \u2018<em>conducive to the public good\u2019<\/em>. Ms Abu Qamar is challenging that decision by way of a Human Rights Appeal in the First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), with a substantive hearing listed for 26 &#8211; 30 September 2024. As part of the proceedings, the new Labour Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, must now review the decision by 13 September 2024.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The cancellation decision shows the remarkable lengths to which the Conservative Government used their powers to suppress Pro- Palestinian free speech, including describing ceasefire protests as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2023\/oct\/30\/uk-ministers-cobra-meeting-terrorism-threat-israel-hamas-conflict-suella-braverman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u2018hate marches\u2019<\/a> and calling on universities to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/64ae4652-6f67-4184-bf35-f5e3d47cd636\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">refer student activists to Prevent<\/a>.&nbsp; Widespread <a href=\"https:\/\/netpol.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/InOurMillions_WEB.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">repression of Palestine advocacy<\/a> has further intensified in recent months with <a href=\"https:\/\/libertyinvestigates.org.uk\/articles\/revealed-the-universities-offering-police-intel-on-student-gaza-protesters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the systematic targeting of students<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/victoria-atkins-nhs-palestine-esther-mcvey-health-secretary-b2557126.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">health care professionals<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.middleeasteye.net\/live-blog\/live-blog-update\/journalist-richard-medhurts-arrested-heathrow-airport-under-terrorism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">most recently of journalists<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Since October 2023, Ms Abu Qamar has lost 22 members of her family in Gaza in the course of Israel\u2019s ongoing genocide against Palestinians. Her public statements during this time reflected the broader struggle of Palestinians under occupation. Since 2006, Israel has imposed a siege on Gaza, which has widely been recognised as unlawful under international law. Gaza has been illegally occupied by Israel since 1967, with approximately 80% of Palestinians in Gaza, including Ms. Abu Qamar\u2019s paternal grandparents, being refugees or descendants of those expelled during the Nakba of 1948.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Ms Abu Qamar is being supported by the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tasnima Uddin of the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) said<\/strong>:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em>\u201cFor a government minister to personally and arbitrarily intervene to remove a Palestinian student from the country and suppress her speech while her family is being killed in Gaza is truly unconscionable. <\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em>Despite Jenrick&#8217;s previous statements about the importance of protecting freedom of expression, he seems perfectly comfortable suppressing speech when it comes to Palestine solidarity, seemingly for ideological purposes and political gains.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dana Abu Qamar said:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em>The media portrayal of Palestinians and their supporters, often encouraged by the rhetoric of the British government, has too often been influenced by wilful misinformation and misunderstanding of the context of the conflict. This has led to unfair perceptions and mischaracterisations of support for Palestinian resistance. At no point, nor would I ever, condone or advocate for violence committed against civilians. In such challenging times, it is even more important to uphold the principles of lawful freedom of expression to ensure the voices of the Palestinian people, who are living under an illegal occupation, can be heard and understood within the bounds of legality and respect for international humanitarian law.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><em>To be targeted by a Government minister, outside of the established process, for speaking on behalf of a people subjected to such atrocities feels not only unjust \u2013 but an attempt to suppress and silence my rights for political reasons and gains.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/support-dana-abu-qamar-and-defend-free-speech-in-our-universities-we-must-act-now\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/support-dana-abu-qamar-and-defend-free-speech-in-our-universities-we-must-act-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Support Dana Abu Qamar and Defend Free Speech in our Universities! <\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/support-dana-abu-qamar-and-defend-free-speech-in-our-universities-we-must-act-now\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/donorbox.org\/support-dana-abu-qamar-and-defend-free-speech-in-our-universities-we-must-act-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">We Must Act Now!&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LONDON, 04 SEPTEMBER 2024: Disclosed emails reveal that the Government\u2019s decision to <\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":7261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[101,88,48],"test-2":[],"country":[152],"blog_categories":[],"class_list":["post-3767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","tag-academic-freedom","tag-defunding","tag-freedom-of-expression","country-gb"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":55,"label":"Press Release"}],"post_tag":[{"value":101,"label":"Academic freedom"},{"value":88,"label":"Defunding"},{"value":48,"label":"Free Speech"}],"country":[{"value":152,"label":"Britain"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/elsc.support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Disclosed-emails-reveal-Tory-Ministers-secret-personal-request-to-cancel-a-Palestinian-students-visa-1-1024x538.png",1024,538,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Bashar","author_link":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/author\/bashar\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":55,"name":"Press Release","slug":"press-release","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":55,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Official updates shared with media or public.","parent":0,"count":77,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":55,"category_count":77,"category_description":"Official updates shared with media or public.","cat_name":"Press Release","category_nicename":"press-release","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":101,"name":"Academic freedom","slug":"academic-freedom","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":101,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Academic freedom under threat","parent":0,"count":30,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":88,"name":"Defunding","slug":"defunding","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":88,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Campaigns to remove funding from harmful institutions","parent":0,"count":15,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":48,"name":"Free Speech","slug":"freedom-of-expression","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":48,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Relates to censorship and academic freedom","parent":0,"count":89,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3767"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4132,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3767\/revisions\/4132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3767"},{"taxonomy":"test-2","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/test-2?post=3767"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=3767"},{"taxonomy":"blog_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_categories?post=3767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}