26 September 2024
Dana Abuqamar, a Palestinian student, is threatened with expulsion from the UK for a speech that was misinterpreted as support for terrorism. Robert Jenrick MP, whose support for Israel is equalled only by his ignorance of Palestinian history, appears to have played a central part in the government vendetta against her, as this report in Middle East Eye explains.
UK: Palestinian student to appeal against decision to revoke her student visa
Dana Abuqamar, who previously headed the University of Manchester’s Friends of Palestine Society, will appear before a court in Manchester on Thursday, where her two-day hearing will begin.
Last year, the British government revoked Abuqamar’s visa on “national security” grounds after claiming she was a risk to public safety.
Abuqamar, who has lost 15 relatives in Gaza since Israel began its bombardment of the besieged enclave, believes the UK government revoked her visa last year after she made a speech in Manchester.
The Palestinian student faced criticism for her speech in which she said, “We are full of pride, we are really, full of joy at what has happened”, following the 7 October Hamas-led attacks on Israel.
Abuqamar later told the BBC that her comments were misrepresented and that “the death of any innocent civilian should not be condoned ever, and we don’t condone it at all”.
“The Home Office has claimed that my presence in the UK threatens national security. They have said the statements I make support extremist views – keep in mind I am a 19-year-old student who studies and supports social justice campaigns through volunteering or advocating for human rights,” Abuqamar said.
Earlier this month, legal documents related to Abuqamar’s case revealed that former UK immigration minister Robert Jenrick personally intervened in the case after Abuqamar made her speech in support of Palestine.
Email disclosure related to her case revealed that Jenrick, the frontrunner to be the next leader of the Conservative Party, instructed his private secretary to message the Home Office about Abu Qamar before the decision to revoke her visa.
According to the documents, Jenrick’s private secretary said the former minister was interested in “finding out about Dana Abuqamar” and inquired whether it was “possible to revoke her student visa”.
Abu Qamar’s legal team criticised Jenrick’s intervention and said it appeared to have replaced the “established referral process” within the Home Office when seeking to revoke an individual’s student visa.