KCL revoke student visa of Palestine activist

Over 88 student groups have signed an open letter from the Association of Student Activism for Palestine (ASAP) calling on King’s College London (KCL) to reverse its decision to revoke pro-Palestine activist Usama Ghanem’s student visa.

The letter begins by detailing the ways in which KCL has singled out and made an example of Usama’s case:

We, the undersigned, condemn the draconian disciplinary action undertaken by King’s College London against student activist Usama Ghanem. The university’s crackdown on student activists has reached new heights, as they are now attempting to revoke Usama’s student visa. KCL is at the forefront of unprecedented university repression in the UK.

Usama has been singled out and targeted by KCL since his participation in the 2024 KCL encampment. During which he was put under disciplinary and banned from campus for protesting against KCL’s participation in the Gaza genocide. His disciplinary was only reversed on the condition of a cease and decist order, an unprecedented measure taken against a student, which restricted him from joining any protests on campus.

The organisations which have signed up in support include CAGE International, Muslim Students for Palestine, and numerous Palestine societies from universities around the country.

Greta Thunberg and Jeremy Corbyn have also voiced their support of Usama in the face of KCL’s decision. The local branch of the University and College Union (UCU) even carried out a first-of-a-kind strike ballot in support of the students.

‘Punishment for supporting Palestine’

The open letter goes on:

In February, Kings shamefully invited pro-Israel speaker Faezah Alavi to speak on campus, a woman who publically mocked the infanticide of Gazan children on her social media. This decision outraged students, and led to a protest. After a letter from Campaign Against Antisemitism lobbying KCL’s Vice Chancellor, Shitlji Kapur, to take action against protesters, Usama was then put under indefinite suspension, resulting in the removal of his student visa.

Despite the university clearing him of causing any health and safety issues by protesting, KCL still moved to suspend Usama – showing that this is the punishment for supporting Palestine. This unjust decision means that Usama is at risk of being sent back to the authoritarian regime in Egypt where he and his family have faced political persecution and imprisonment. The university was well aware of this, but chose to harm their student over divesting from genocide.

Before he came to KCL, Ghanem – along with his brother and father – was imprisoned for his opposition to the Egyptian government in 2020.

After King’s decided to suspend Ghanem, the university sent a letter informing the Home Office. The Home Office then immediately moved to revoke his visa, and sent him notice of his removal from the country. Now, Ghanem’s lawyers in his case against KCL hold that the university is discriminating against his anti-Zionist beliefs.

Three demands

The open letter pulls no punches in naming why King’s is so invested in silencing Ghanem. It also makes three demands of the university:

Usama is 1 of 28 KCL students who have been put under investigation for protesting for Palestine. King’s [sic] takes issue with these students because they expose the university for their investments in weapons manufacturers and Israeli companies that enable genocide in Gaza. Students paying fees to attend an academic institution, should be able to critique and hold accountable their university when the money is used to fund genocide.

Thus, we make the following demands:

KCL must swiftly drop Usama’s case and safeguard his student status
KCL must end all other disciplinaries against student activists
Most crucially, it must relinquish support for companies carrying out the genocide on behalf of the zionist entity

The letter then ends with a message addressed to King’s College bosses:

Students should have the right to free expression on campus, the right to protest and the right to oppose their university’s role in occupation without running the risk of suspension or expulsion.

Lastly, we convey a message to the KCL administration: to Shitlij Kapur, Glen Childs and Jeremy Cook – you care more about your profits than the lives of your students you claim to serve and the Palestinians your investments kill. We stand in unwavering solidarity with Usama, and the legal action he is pursuing against the university for their repression.

We implore fellow students, the UCU, SU and people of conscience, to write to KCL and demand they reverse these measures. We also call on all staff members to support the recent UCU action in support of Usama.

Universities across the UK have made themselves complicit in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people. This takes the form of both direct and indirect investments in companies profiteering from the war.

However, Kings’ is far beyond this mere complicity. It’s actively trying to silence a student for speaking out against genocide, even to the extent of having him deported. As the weight of solidarity behind the ASA Palestine’s letter has shown, the activist community is more than willing to fight back against KCL’s blatant repression.

Featured image via the Canary