Pro-Palestinian students at KCL hold protest demanding suspended student be reinstated

Pro-Palestinian students at King’s College London have held a protest demanding that a suspended student be reinstated at the university.

The suspended student, Usama Ghanem, took part in the demonstration held at the Strand Quad on Friday 31st October.

Usama’s suspension has been heavily criticised, and the student himself has accused the university of endangering his life. This is because visa removal may mean he is deported to his home country, Egypt, where he previously faced political persecution.

The 21-year-old was heavily involved in campus protests and his supporters accuse the university of disciplining him for his pro-Palestinian activism.

A spokesperson for King’s College London said: “We want to make it absolutely clear that we do not discipline students for lawful affiliations, including support for Pro-Palestine views, nor for participating in lawful protests. Any disciplinary measures are taken solely in response to breaches of our policies and regulations which are in place to maintain a safe and inclusive environment for everyone.”

The protest, organised by KCLStands4Justice, has been endorsed by other societies at the university, such as the KCL Intersectional Feminist Society and Muslim Students for Palestine.

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KCLStands4Justice held the protest on Strand Campus with Palestinian flags, drums, megaphones and banners reading: “Target ELBIT, Not Students”.

ELBIT is an Israeli-based international high-tech company that manufactures defence products. It also has a subsidiary group called ELBIT UK, which works with the UK military.

Students have previously criticised KCL for having investments in Israeli defence manufacturers such as ELBIT. The university has since committed to stopping direct investment, but students remain concerned that halting indirect investments will be more difficult.

A spokesperson for King’s College London said: “King’s maintains an ethical investment policy and specifically invests in funds that are proactively screened to avoid controversial and unethical sectors and industries – like tobacco, controversial weapons and fossil fuels as well as investing in funds that actively target positive social and green investments.”

Haya Adam, a second year law student who was expelled from SOAS for pro-Palestinian activism, attended the protest and gave a speech in support of Usama’s reinstatement to the university.

A member of staff at KCL, who was also at the protest, said: “The student protests against Palestinian genocide and for the reinstatement of Usama are just and peaceful.

“They’re using their freedom of speech and assembly to peacefully fight violence and oppression. Speaking up against oppression is not violence or hate speech, so should have space at King’s as everywhere else.”

Another student at the protest told The King’s Tab they feel “proud of the students who all came together to defend one of their own” and believe “expelling him [Usama] was an abuse of power”.

A spokesperson for KCLStands4Justice told The King’s Tab: “We are here in support of Usama who has been unjustly suspended and at risk of deportation, despite KCL being aware of his risk of persecution and torture in his home country. KCL has given over 30 students disciplinaries since October 7th due to students protesting their complicity in genocide.”

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