Birmingham University drops allegations against pro-Palestine students
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Students Mariyah Ali and Antonia Listrat have been cleared of all charges after a year-long probe into Palestine solidarity protests at the University of Birmingham.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters take part in a demonstration on Al Quds Day, in London, Friday, April 5, 2024 (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
The University of Birmingham has dismissed all disciplinary allegations against students Mariyah Ali and Antonia Listrat, concluding a year-long case rooted in their activism in solidarity with Palestine, Press TV reported.
The Misconduct and Fitness to Practise Committee found no evidence of wrongdoing, according to the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC), which supported the students’ legal defense.
The decision follows months of disciplinary proceedings that had sparked outrage among human rights advocates and Palestine solidarity groups.
🚨 BREAKING: All allegations against Mariyah Ali & Antonia Listrat DISMISSED by the University of Birmingham after a powerful student defence & ELSC legal support. They were punished for protesting the university’s complicity in genocide—and they won.https://t.co/lVcpR5tdfJ
— European Legal Support Center (ELSC) (@elsclegal) June 6, 2025
“For nearly a year, both faced distressing disciplinary proceedings solely for protesting the university’s complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” the ELSC said in a statement Saturday.
Ali and Listrat were accused of misconduct for their involvement in campus protests. The allegations, however, were found to be entirely baseless.
Student movement for Palestine growing stronger, Ali says
Ali described the drawn-out process as “unnecessarily distressing,” citing the emotional and academic toll it took over 11 months.
Despite the pressure, she reaffirmed their resolve, saying, “The University of Birmingham attempted to punish us for protesting its complicity in the genocide of Palestinians—yet, it lost. Every single allegation was found to be baseless and unproven.”
“Your attempts to silence us have failed. The student movement for Palestine is growing stronger, and we will not stop until there is full disclosure, divestment, and the protection of our right to speak out,” she underscored.
Read more: Columbia suspends over 65 Students following pro-Palestine protest
Listrat pointed out that protesting is “an integral part of campus life” and condemned the university's actions.
“Enabling genocide and profiting from human rights violations is quite a violent stance that the University of Birmingham has taken. Funding genocide is violent; protesting genocide is peaceful,” she stressed.
Charges against Ali and Listrat rooted in Islamophobic, racialized stereotypes
The ELSC asserted that the charges were rooted in Islamophobic and racialized stereotypes, which frame Palestine solidarity efforts as “threatening” or “intimidating”.
The organization pointed to a broader pattern of UK universities weaponizing disciplinary systems to silence Muslim and racialized students who engage in Palestine advocacy.
“These institutions have increasingly aligned themselves with UK government policies that fund, arm, and politically support the mass killing of Palestinians,” ELSC said.
The case is part of a wider crackdown on student-led Palestine activism in the UK. At least 28 universities have reportedly disciplined over 113 students for their political engagement.
Activists and rights organizations have decried the trend as an institutional effort to suppress dissent and shield universities' political and financial ties to "Israel".
Through investments, partnerships, and political affiliations, universities like Birmingham are seen as complicit in sustaining the occupation, siege, and war against Gaza, ELSC emphasized.
Read more: UK protesters yell 'starving children red line' in pro-Palestine rally
