Disclosed emails reveal Tory Minister’s secret personal request to cancel a Palestinian student’s visa

LONDON, 04 SEPTEMBER 2024: Disclosed emails reveal that the Government’s 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.  

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’s private secretary wrote to Home Office officials to indicate that “the Minister is interested in finding out about Dana Abu Qamar” and to enquire whether it would be “possible to revoke her student visa”. The failure to follow any established referral process raises serious concerns about political influence in individual immigration decisions. 

On 1 December 2023, the Home Office cancelled Ms Abu Qamar’s student visa on the grounds that her presence in the UK was not ‘conducive to the public good’. 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 – 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.   

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 ‘hate marches’ and calling on universities to refer student activists to Prevent.  Widespread repression of Palestine advocacy has further intensified in recent months with the systematic targeting of students, health care professionals and most recently of journalists.  

Since October 2023, Ms Abu Qamar has lost 22 members of her family in Gaza in the course of Israel’s 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’s paternal grandparents, being refugees or descendants of those expelled during the Nakba of 1948.  

Ms Abu Qamar is being supported by the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC). 

Tasnima Uddin of the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) said: 

“For 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.  

Despite Jenrick’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. 

Dana Abu Qamar said: 

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.

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 – but an attempt to suppress and silence my rights for political reasons and gains.

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