Cambridge uni loses bid to ban pro-Palestine protests on campus

The University of Cambridge has lost a High Court bid to secure “a draconian” five-year ban on pro-Palestine protests on some of its sites, rights groups have said.

The University of Cambridge attempted to argue that the injunction until 2030 was urgently required before graduation ceremonies this weekend, but the judge dismissed this application, saying he would grant only a “very narrow and limited court order” until tomorrow.

This would prohibit direct action at the Senate House in Cambridge and the lawn in front, Senate House Yard, where the ceremony will be held.

A further hearing is scheduled for March as the judge said it was “a matter of significant concern” that the university’s application offered little time for potential interested parties to properly respond.

The university application was opposed by groups including Cambridge 4 Palestine (C4P), European Legal Support Centre (ELSC), Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Cambridge Student Union, Liberty and University and College Union (UCU)

Cambridge SU and the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Assembly joined the groups ahead of the hearing to condemn the university’s discriminatory attack on fundamental rights to protest, which disproportionately affects Palestinian students and staff. The university sought to silence those demanding that it ends its complicity in Israel’s genocide. PSC research has previously found that British universities invest nearly £430m in companies complicit in Israel’s violations of international law.

Commenting on the verdict, Senior Legal Officer at ELSC, Anna Ost, said: “This is a significant victory – one that sends a strong message to other universities attempting to impose such draconian restrictions on freedom of assembly and protest … We are thrilled that the court has refused to grant it today, but this fight is not over. Another hearing is scheduled for the end of March, and we hope the court will recognise, as we do, that this is a blatant violation of students’ fundamental rights.”

“It is our responsibility to fight this wider pattern of repression against our movement, on university campuses or otherwise, and against our civil liberties in the legal terrain.”

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