Students double down on legal action against LSE over protest clampdown

The students, dubbed the ‘LSE 7’, were disciplined after participating in a protest on campus on 7 July 2024. The protest called on the university to divest from companies implicated in human rights abuses against Palestinians, in line with a student referendum that passed with overwhelming support (89%) in favour of divestment.   

In internal emails now seen by the students, LSE’s President Larry Kramer branded the protest a “temper tantrum by children” that he claimed was “nothing to do with the Israel-Gaza situation” and an “excuse for acting out.” He said that LSE would “move to expel” the protestors and also suggested that future protests at the university may require police or security presence “who can restrain people.”   

Human rights lawyers at law firm Leigh Day wrote to LSE on behalf of the students, arguing that the university had violated their rights. The school dropped the campus ban and other sanctions, although the disciplinary process is still ongoing. LSE has issued a formal warning to six of the students, which the students are currently appealing. 

Despite the July protest being carried out peacefully - holding banners, chanting slogans and making speeches about LSE’s investments - LSE imposed severe sanctions on the students which were described as “precautionary measures”, including campus bans, restrictions on their academic and social activities, and restrictions on accessing campus facilities, including in-person medical care and prayer rooms. As a result, several of the students were forced to defer their studies, have experienced isolation, extreme stress and negative health impacts. 

The students also say LSE’s reaction to the protest reveals troubling attitudes towards Palestine-related activism within the university. In an internal email seen by the students, senior LSE management described the students as “dressed as terrorists” and suggested they should be expelled before any investigation had even begun. In another email, it was suggested that the school should explore an injunction to halt future protests.   

In the pre-action protocol letter sent to LSE management by Leigh Day, the students argued that the university's actions breached their rights to freedom of assembly, expression and thought and discriminated against them. On 6 December 2024, following receipt of the legal letter, LSE lifted the sanctions and issued formal warnings to six of the students.   

The students say that this proves that the almost five-month period of severe “precautionary” measures imposed on them was unwarranted. The students continue with their legal action as they maintain that the university’s actions throughout have breached their rights.   

LSE had accused the students of creating an “extremely hostile” environment partly because the protest took place on 7 July, the anniversary of the London bombings, which the university alleged led to individuals fearing a further attack was underway. The accusation was made in letters sent from the university to students involved in the protest and repeated in internal emails between LSE management, despite LSE claiming that the comparison was only made by witnesses and not the school itself. Evidence relied on by LSE claimed that the protestors’ attire was “very intimidating” and had instilled fear. The protestors wore Palestinian keffiyehs, a traditional Palestinian headdress and global symbol of solidarity with Palestine and covered their faces to protect themselves from online harassment.   

In another LSE email seen by the students, a member of the LSE security team told a witness in the disciplinary process to say that one of the student protestors said “Allahu Akbar” – the Arabic phrase meaning God is Great – during the protest. The students say that not only did this not happen, it reveals Islamophobia within the university and raises serious concerns over the LSE’s failure to challenge discriminatory narratives.   

The group are calling on LSE to apologise, engage meaningfully with the issues raised by their protest, including divestment from companies linked to alleged human rights abuses, as well as guaranteeing the protection of protest rights on campus – to prevent similar cases happening again in future.   

In May 2024, the LSESU Palestine Society released a report titled "Assets in Apartheid" highlighting that LSE invested £89 million in companies implicated in alleged crimes against Palestinians. 

Amnesty International, as well as Gina Romero, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories have all criticised LSE over the disciplinary action.   

The students’ case is an example of a wider pattern of disciplinary action being taken against students and staff protesting in support of Palestine in UK universities, documented in a recent report by Liberty Investigates.    

Emily*, one of the seven students, said:  

“All seven of us believe that the LSE is profiting from what is widely documented as genocide of Palestinians and we have sought to expose and denounce the university’s apparent complicity in these grave human rights abuses through protest. There are no universities left in Gaza. As students, we have a moral duty to uphold the principles of justice and accountability that higher education institutions are meant to represent. 

“Instead of engaging meaningfully with its students on the urgent issue of divestment, LSE has chosen to silence those who speak out against genocide and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. LSE is not above the law. We believe that by violating our fundamental human rights and discriminating against us for peacefully protesting, the university has undermined the very principles of equality and justice it claims to champion.   

“The school’s disproportionate and hostile response to our protest not only raises serious questions about its commitment to justice but we believe it also reveals deep-rooted racism, Islamophobia, and anti-Palestinian sentiment. 

“It is incomprehensible that after more than a year of atrocities in Palestine we were facing more severe consequences than our university management, who have continued to invest in companies implicated in human rights abuses against Palestinians.”   

The students are represented by Tessa Gregory and Sarah Crowe at Leigh Day and Monica Feria-Tinta of Twenty Essex Chambers.   

Sarah Crowe, human rights solicitor at Leigh Day, said:  

“Our clients exercised their legitimate rights to freedom of expression and peaceful protest in order call for divestment from companies implicated in alleged crimes against Palestinians. Instead of engaging with our clients on these important issues, LSE has sought to silence them. We believe that LSE’s response to this peaceful protest - including drawing unfounded comparisons to terrorism - is not only an attack on our clients’ rights but also risks having a chilling effect on campus activism more broadly, especially in relation to Palestine. Universities are places where ideas should be debated, not silenced. Our clients hope that following this case that LSE will avoid any repetition of such disproportionate and punitive measures against student protestors and will take meaningful steps to uphold the democratic values it purports to champion.”   

*Name changed to protect identity