A Palestinian student who praised the Hamas’ October 7 attack has won an appeal against the Home Office’s decision to revoke her visa.
Dana Abuqamar was a law student at the University of Manchester, when she attended a pro-Palestine protest just one day after Hamas swept into Israel and killed over 1200 people.
During the demonstration the 20-year-old president of Manchester Friends of Palestine, was filmed saying she was ‘full of pride’ and ‘proud that Palestinian resistance has come to this point’.
Following the highly controversial comments the Home Office revoked the dual Jordanian-Canadian citizen’s student visa on the grounds of ‘national security’.
However yesterday she won a human rights appeal against the decision as the judge ruled the Home Office had failed to demonstrate that her presence in the country was ‘not conducive to public good’.
Whitehall sources confirmed that Ms Abuqamar’s visa had been rescinded over her comments following the October 7 attack and said it was revoked on the grounds she is ‘non-conducive to the public good’
Judge Melanie Plimmer ruled that the Home Office had violated Abuqamar’s human rights and her ability to practise freedom of speech under the European Convention on Human Rights by revoking her visa in December 2023.
The judgment also claimed that she was ‘not an extremist’ and that by calling Israel and ‘apartheid’ state she was expressing views consistent with human rights organisations.
Abuqamar told the Guardian the judgment set an important precedent on Wednesday: ‘This ruling validates the right to voice support for human rights for the plight of Palestinians and the right to resist occupation.
‘I’ve always been of the position that I never have or never will condone harm to innocent civilians. It doesn’t align with who I am as a person, with my character and with my views. I’ve made that explicitly clear throughout and I’m glad that the court has seen that.’
She 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 October 7 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’.
She added that ‘everyone’s in danger in Gaza’ and even shared that 22 of her relatives have now been killed during the war.
A general view of the destruction after the Israeli army attack on the 5-storey building belonging to the Abu Nasr family in Beit Lahia, Gaza on October 29, 2024
The bodies of Palestinians who lost their lives in the Israeli attack on the Al-Farra family home are taken from Nasser Hospital’s morgue by relatives to be prepared for funeral prayers and burial in Khan Yunis, Gaza on October 30, 2024
Palestinians assist casualties following an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip October 30, 2024
Whitehall sources confirmed that Ms Abuqamar’s visa had been rescinded over her comments following the October 7 attack but disputed her claim that this was over ‘national security’ concerns and said that it was instead revoked on the grounds she is ‘non-conducive to the public good’.
A source said: ‘This decision was made over six months ago by Robert [Jenrick] and Suella [Braverman].
‘The trigger was the comments after October 7. She did it in a very public way, to a huge crowd, on Sky News. It was brazen.
‘You have to remember she is not a British citizen, she is a visitor here. She is here on our generosity.’
According to the Home Office, behaviour deemed non conducive to the public good includes instances where people have engaged in unacceptable or extremist behaviour, such as activity which fosters hatred, or where the person is associated or has been associated with people involved in terrorism.
In a post on Instagram on May 8 Ms Abuqamar doubled down on her views and said: ‘I do not regret standing up for my people and advocating for their right to resist oppression, as prescribed by international law, and I will continue to do so regardless of the repercussions.’
She added: ‘If anything, the backlash I received from complicit media, institutions and governmental authorities should encourage you to stay steadfast in your activism, or at least I would so hope.’
In an email to colleagues, Professor Claire Alexander – head of the university’s School of Social Sciences – failed to condemn the remarks and repeated the student’s claim that they had been ‘misrepresented’
Although at the time then policing minister Chris Philp condemned her comments saying: ‘This is sick. I’m appalled that anyone holds these repugnant views.’
Professor Claire Alexander – head of the university of Manchester’s School of Social Sciences – failed to condemn the remarks and repeated the student’s claim that they had been ‘misrepresented’.
She wrote in an email to colleagues: ‘Some of you may be aware that one of our students was recently interviewed on Sky News about the Israel/Gaza conflict. A clip of the interview has been circulating on Twitter and has raised concerns among staff and students.
‘The student has contacted us in considerable distress about the misrepresentation of their views, and we are supporting them through this difficult time.’
Ms Abuqamar, speaking at another pro-Palestine march, said: ‘We need to make it known that we will not be silenced – that any attacks or any actions or efforts to silence us from standing up against oppression and saying the truth and helping people to see through the propaganda – that won’t work anymore.
‘We are here to condemn the UK’s support for Israel and its perpetration of war crimes.’
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘It is longstanding government policy that we do not routinely comment on individual cases.’
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