The University of Birmingham accused us of intimidation: Here’s how we proved our innocence

My name is Antonia Listrat, and for over 11 months, the University of Birmingham has subjected me and Mariyah Ali to a management driven and deeply prejudiced disciplinary process, simply for participating in a Pro-Palestine protest.

The university raised allegations of intimidation against a legitimate protest aimed at challenging the university’s financial complicity in the conflict in Gaza. These harmful narratives have been consistently used by UoB and mainstream media to portray campus protests as dangerous and to discredit our movement for liberation.

A six hour long Misconduct Committee hearing was held on the 7th April 2025 regarding the allegations put against us. The evidence presented against us included statements like: “They weren’t chanting nice, polite things,” and “they were making us uncomfortable, so we felt unsafe and barricaded ourselves in our offices”.

The university has confirmed to The Birmingham Tab that the protest mentioned here was not authorised and the staff who barricaded themselves were junior members of the university team.

The bottom line was that we caused upset and made people feel bad about their investment decisions by telling them that their decisions result in the killing of innocent people. Our response was that the purpose of our protest was precisely to confront these realities and to hold the investment subcommittee accountable.

Our protest was legitimate, as the University of Birmingham has millions in investments and partnerships with companies alleged to have violated international law.

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In response to comments about the university’s investments, a spokesperson said: “The university is committed to maintaining high environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards across our investment portfolios, the full details of which can be found transparently on our website, which is regularly updated. This is the only true and accurate source of information regarding the university’s investments; information reported online by third parties may, therefore, be outdated, or inaccurate.

“We are a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, incorporating ESG factors in our investments.  The University does not hold direct investments; it invests in pooled funds where our money is used alongside funds of other investors.”

Most of the debate was centred around the chant “Stop killing babies”, which was alleged to have caused offence and be inappropriate language in the context of an academic institution. According to estimates by Unicef, approximately 13,000 children are reported to have died in Gaza. Therefore, for us, it was deeply disturbing to see UoB seemingly prioritise the hurt feelings of the people making these investment decisions, over the Palestinian lives lost as an alleged result of those investments.

We have been targeted for our pro-Palestine beliefs, subjected to intrusive surveillance and conduct investigations for the past 12 months. A subject access request showed that I was followed on campus and that my presence at pro-Palestine protests was being monitored. I was told that my participation in an unauthorised protest is a severe violation of the Student Conduct, and that I would be suspended if I didn’t stop protesting.

Inspired by the steadfastness of the Palestinians, I didn’t stop or let this silence me. It was a very dehumanising experience, and at one point the security team even wrongfully claimed that I was banned from campus. Discriminating against me for my Pro-Palestine beliefs is in violation of the Equality Act 2010, and I intend to complain about this mistreatment to the relevant bodies.

Despite all of the attacks on our human rights, Mariyah Ali and I have managed to prove that all of the allegations brought against us were baseless, and an attempt at silencing pro-Palestinian voices on campus. All the charges against us were dropped. Protest is an integral part of campus life and of a healthy and progressive society. We have to protect our democratic right to hold those in power accountable. The entire student body is united in these values, as shown by the fact that I was recently elected as Guild President.

This victory would not have been possible without the support of the student body and wider community. People have showed up for us in solidarity and collected over 2,000 signatures calling on UoB to drop the unfair disciplinary proceedings.

However, UoB ignored the petition, but the show of support has definitely made a huge difference. We received support from the United Nations, the European Legal Support Centre and CAGE International. We were however disappointed by the lack of support from our Students’ Union (Guild) who seemingly refused to defend our rights.

As a white person raised in white culture, this experience forced me to reflect deeply on whiteness and how white supremacy sustains systems of oppression. Colonialism and white supremacy breed a certain type of culture. There is this deep fear of being uncomfortable, because white supremacy teaches us to confuse comfort with safety. I could so clearly see this when people barricaded themselves in their offices simply because we chanted “Stop Killing Babies”. White supremacy confuses being nice and polite with being civil and nonviolent. These are most definitely not the same things.

Upon reflection, I realised this was the core issue at the root of the disciplinary. The university claimed that we didn’t act in a civil and nonviolent manner – not because we were actually violent, but because we demanded accountability from those in power in a way they deemed “impolite”. White supremacy always hides behind politeness. Civility is consistently weaponised in this way, which protects these oppressive systems. This disciplinary process exposed to me how institutions protect oppressive systems under the guise of objectivity and adherence to socially accepted standards of behaviour or conduct.

We need to reframe actions like protest and confrontation not as acts of incivility, but as necessary responses to injustice. We need to reclaim the narrative around resistance, and recognise it as a vital and legitimate tool for accountability.

We have repeatedly told this to the university, but they refused to listen and kept carrying on with the ridiculous disciplinaries. White supremacy breeds a certain type of confidence, a certainty that we are always right, that our emotions are always reasonable. That any harm we cause is always accidental, and we instantly get defensive and victimise ourselves when being held accountable.

I urge the university leadership to reflect on their role in perpetuating these systems, and to join the student body in the ongoing work of decolonising our minds. I continue to call on them to meet with the Student-Staff Coalition for Palestine and to end financial complicity in genocide.

A University of Birmingham spokesperson told The Birmingham Tab: “We are aware that two students have made public their involvement in a University of Birmingham disciplinary process and have made allegations about the University, which are either misleading or untrue.

“The University of Birmingham has never, and would never, act against any member of our community because of the views they lawfully hold or express. It is important that the university is a safe and welcoming space for all our community, so we will always investigate any complaint or allegation of misconduct, harassment or breach of our regulations.

“Our disciplinary process is fair and objective. Where relevant, it includes legitimately gathering and reviewing evidence and taking witness statements to assess the allegations. As part of the process, a panel of university staff not connected with the investigation meets to review evidence and determine whether a breach of the university’s regulations has occurred. This is standard, and proper, practice.

“We have a strong and longstanding commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom, supported by our Code of Practice. Through this we regularly facilitate debates and activities (such as rallies) on a range of issues, including in relation to Palestine. We unequivocally refute any suggestion that our Freedom of Speech Code of Practice is unlawful. It was developed with expert internal and external legal advice, and has also been relied upon in a High Court judgment.

“Our university community includes staff, students and visitors from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs. We will not tolerate any form of discrimination or racism, and maintain regular discussions with a range of student and staff representatives to listen to their views and ensure that they feel supported.”

A spokesperson from the Birmingham Guild for Students said: “The Guild of Students is committed to supporting University of Birmingham students involved in disciplinary processes through the provision of our trained Advice team. In addition, our Elected Officers have worked with the University to uphold students’ legal right to protest on campus and represent the student body.

“Over the past year, the Guild has supported student protests by actively working with student groups on their approval, Elected Officers have supported peaceful protests, including attending in their capacity as Guild representatives.

“Due to the confidential nature of the process, the Guild is unable to comment on individual disciplinary hearings.”