“At stake are not just our voices, but the fundamental civil liberties of all.” - Mahmoud Khalil
We condemn the University’s decision to take legal action against student protest. We stand with students and affirm our position in strongly opposing the University’s expanded application for injunctive relief against students, who have acted upon their right to freedom of expression and assembly. The University intends to stifle such expression and, since its first injunction application (March 2025), has set such a precedent which has continued to increase control of students' ability to speak and protest on issues of great importance to their lives and to the global community.
The University of Cambridge has consistently sought injunctions against students lobbying for its divestment from companies implicated in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. In an attempt to silence the voices of students, engaged with their ethical obligations, the University continues to pursue excessive legal action that will not only prevent lawful protesting of those gathering for pro-Palestinian efforts, but for any and all political issues, stating within the injunction request that individuals can be legally pursued for acting on listed properties “for the purpose of protest”. This was exemplified when, for the first time, the University threatened the arrest of a graduate who sat holding a Palestinian flag in Senate House.The University cannot affirm the freedom of speech of all individuals in the institution, while actively taking steps to silence certain cohorts of students and staff alike. Freedom of speech does not exist if it must be authorised by the very institution it questions.
Despite their affirmations of freedom of expression, thought and freedom from discrimination, the University has chosen to pursue action that would place student protest as a criminal offence on its land, as such likening the actions of outspoken and ethically grounded students as criminal. The University affirms, within its core values, that it is an institution grounded in “the encouragement of a questioning spirit” and yet seeks to further curtail the freedom of thought and expression (one of its core values) of students, who, through peaceful protest, question practices that fail to reflect its values. As beneficiaries of this institution, students have the mandate to hold Cambridge University to account, as they are so often encouraged to do. The University’s actions do not align with its self-proclaimed values and as such do not reflect the progress and will of its beneficiaries.
Students have a right to protest. This institution has taught them to have conviction to hold any and all institutions to account in their wrongdoings. The University now has a responsibility to act accordingly. We will continue to urge the University to withdraw its application for injunctive relief. It must recognise students’ right to freedom of expression. And it must show this by protecting it, not infringing upon it.
In Solidarity,
Cambridge SU Sabbatical Officers