Cambridge University’s Attempt to Restrict Palestine Solidarity Protests Faces Legal Challenge in High Court 

London, 19 March 2025 – The High Court is set to hear the University of Cambridge’s renewed attempt to secure an injunction against Palestine-related protests today, 19 March 2025. Despite retracting from their original bid for a sweeping five-year ban, the University now seeks an injunction until July 2025, targeting “persons unknown” and restricting access to key protest sites. The European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) and Liberty are intervening in the case, arguing that the injunction is an unlawful restriction on freedom of expression and assembly under Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). 

Originally, Cambridge sought to ban all Palestine-related protests until 2030. However, they are still seeking a vague and overbroad injunction, which will still suppress political expression and violate protest rights. The injunction targets “persons unknown,” aiming to target anyone expressing solidarity with Palestine, including students, workers, staff, and members of the public could be criminalised. 

An Escalating Crackdown on Protest Rights 

Cambridge University’s injunction follows months of student-led encampments and protests by Cambridge for Palestine (C4P), demanding the University divest from companies complicit in Israel’s violations of international law. This legal move comes amid Israel’s genocide in Gaza, where over 400 Palestinians have been killed on the 18^th of March, and every university in Gaza has been reduced to rubble since October 2023. Despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) finding that Israel’s actions plausibly constitute genocide, a conclusion reinforced by a large body of international law experts. Cambridge has chosen to punish its students protesting these atrocities rather than address its complicity.  

Instead of engaging with student demands, Cambridge is using its resources to attempt to dismantle one of the UK’s strongest student movements. This reflects a growing and dangerous trend of universities acting as tools of state repression. The right to protest and freedom of speech on campuses are being systematically eroded, with consequences that extend far beyond higher education and into wider civil society. If granted, Cambridge’s injunction could set a dangerous precedent, allowing universities across the UK to silence Palestine solidarity activism and supress political dissent.  

Protest Rights Under Threat 
The ELSC’s legal intervention highlights multiple fundamental flaws in Cambridge’s legal approach, including: 

1. Violation of Protest Rights: The proposed injunction disproportionately restricts freedom of expression and assembly under Articles 10 and 11 of the ECHR. Protests, including encampments are protected under international human rights law. 

2. Discriminatory in Nature: The injunction, while framed broadly, directly targets Palestinian solidarity activism, raising serious concerns about discrimination under Article 14 ECHR and the Equality Act 2010. 

3. Unjustified and Overbroad: The University has failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify such extreme legal measures, making this injunction unnecessary and excessive. 

4. Restriction of Public Spaces: The injunction improperly extends to public highways, limiting movement and expression beyond university property. 

5. A Dangerous Precedent for Universities Across the UK: 
   If granted, Cambridge’s injunction could set a legal blueprint for other universities seeking to suppress Palestine solidarity movements and broader political dissent. The case has implications beyond Cambridge, as institutions across the UK face mounting pressure to clamp down on pro-Palestinian activism. 

The ELSC remains committed to defending student protest rights and preventing the use of legal tools to undermine political expression and solidarity with Palestine. The public is urged to stand in solidarity with student activists, attend the hearing, and support legal and fundraising efforts to challenge this injunction. 

Anna Ost, Senior Legal Officer, European Legal Support Centre: “This injunction is part of a wider trend of universities converging with state repression to dismantle the mass movement for Palestinian liberation. Instead of upholding academic freedom and protecting students’ right to protest, institutions like Cambridge are increasingly becoming sites of suppression. At a time when Israeli forces have destroyed every university in Gaza, it is deeply alarming to see Cambridge attempt to silence its own students for standing against this injustice. The ELSC will continue to challenge these unlawful attempts to criminalise solidarity and dissent.”  

Ben Jamal, Director, Palestine Solidarity Campaign: “As Israel resumes its full‐scale genocidal onslaught against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the University of Cambridge should be taking steps to end its complicity in these crimes and supporting Palestinian students, not seeking draconian powers to silence them. This is a disgraceful attack on those standing up for Palestinian rights and international law, a violation of the duties to protect freedom of speech and assembly, that universities have to follow.