July 2nd 2024.
Officers from the police department visited Tugba Iyigun's home after she participated in and shared her experience at a pro-Palestine protest on social media. This event has brought to light the accusation that British universities are working with the police to monitor students during a surge of pro-Palestine demonstrations.
Reports have shown that police and university administrators have been in close communication in recent months, with police expressing concerns about the number of foreign students enrolled at some universities and advising them to avoid displaying the Palestinian flag on campus. An investigation by Liberty Investigates and The Agency, the independent journalism arm of human rights organization Liberty, revealed that universities have shared information about protesters with the police without being requested to do so.
One student from the University of York shared that officers visited her home on November 19 to refer her to the counter-terror program Prevent after she posted the phrase "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" on social media at a campus rally. This phrase has been used by Palestinian activists for decades and represents their call for freedom in the region. However, some Jewish groups view it as anti-Semitic and see it as a threat to the existence of Israel.
The University of York is just one of many British universities where students have organized protests against the ongoing conflict in Israel. In the days leading up to Iyigun's post, campus security offered to share protest footage with the police after being asked for the address of a female protester who had also used the same phrase. Tugba Iyigun, a 43-year-old student and former Turkish journalist, expressed her disappointment in the university's lack of action to protect her freedom of speech, despite claiming to support human rights.
The investigation into the collaboration between police and universities was initiated by Liberty Investigates and The Agency, who submitted requests for information from over 140 universities. In one email, North Yorkshire Police asked the head of campus safety at York University for information on a female protester, mentioning that she had caught their attention during a previous protest against the monarchy. The police also noted that protesters at the campus had chanted "five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state."
On May 21, campus security at York University reported that they were keeping a log to monitor the "general mood/behaviour" of the encampment, as the university had decided against installing CCTV. Bodycam footage obtained by Liberty Investigates showed the interaction between police and Tugba Iyigun regarding her social media post. She had shared a pro-Palestine phrase on the platform X.
Earlier that month, the National Police Chiefs' Council contacted various police forces, asking for information on any students who were "replicating American campus protest." This information was shared with the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, where police pointed out the number of foreign students enrolled. At the University of East Anglia, two Palestinian students reported feeling "silenced" after the police told staff that allowing the Palestinian flag to be raised on campus did not reflect well on the university.
As the conflict in Gaza continued and protests spread across the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a meeting with vice-chancellors from 17 universities, urging them to take a strong stance against anti-Semitism and prevent any disruptions to students' learning. However, the protests have continued since October, when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,139 people and numerous kidnappings.
The students at UEA who were involved in pro-Palestine activities shared their frustration, feeling that they were not able to freely express their views and represent their state. Police also advised the university to monitor a pro-Palestine talk organized by student Marxists, and security requested an officer to monitor CCTV during a protest held on the university's open day.
Since late May, students have occupied university buildings and set up encampments on campus grounds to protest against the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of nearly 38,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.
In response to the investigation, a spokesperson for the University of York stated that they did not receive any requests for personal information or footage of the protest, and they would only consider releasing such information if a request was submitted under the Data Protection Act.
Recently, Tugba Iyigun was visited by the police at her home after she attended and shared a post on social media about a pro-Palestine protest that took place at her university. This incident is just one of many that have raised concerns about the relationship between British universities and the police, as they have been accused of working together to monitor student activities during the ongoing wave of pro-Palestine protests.
Some universities have been accused of being too cooperative with the police, such as one university being told that having a Palestinian flag on campus "doesn't look good" for their establishment, and another expressing worries about the number of international students they have enrolled. A recent investigation by Liberty Investigates and The Agency, the independent journalism branch of human rights group Liberty, found that universities have been sharing protesters' personal information with the police, even when not requested to do so.
One student at the University of York shared her experience of police visiting her home on November 19th, referring her to the counter-terrorism program Prevent because of a post she made on social media during a campus rally. The post included the phrase "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," which has been used by Palestinian activists since the 1960s as a call for freedom between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. However, some Jewish groups view this phrase as anti-Semitic, as it suggests a future without a Jewish state and raises questions about the role of Jews in this future.
York is just one of many British universities where students have been protesting against Israel's war in Gaza. In fact, only a few days before Tugba's post, campus security offered to share footage of the protest with the police, after they requested the address of a female protester who had posted the same phrase. Tugba, who is a student and former Turkish journalist, expressed her disappointment with the university for not taking steps to protect her freedom of speech, despite claiming to support human rights.
The extent of collaboration between universities and the police in monitoring pro-Palestine protests has come to light after Liberty Investigates and The Agency submitted Freedom of Information requests to over 140 universities, asking for copies of email exchanges with the police regarding protest activity from October 1st to May 16th. In one email, a former police officer asked the head of campus safety at York University for information on a female protester who had previously caught the attention of the police during an anti-monarchy protest.
The police also mentioned that during the protests, students were chanting "five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state," and campus security noted that they were keeping a log to monitor the "general mood/behavior" of the encampment at York. This raises concerns about the police's involvement in monitoring and potentially influencing the protests.
In May, the National Police Chiefs' Council's neighborhood policing lead contacted all police forces, asking for intelligence on any students "replicating American campus protests." This email was forwarded to the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, where administrators promised to update the police on planned protests after they pointed out the number of foreign students enrolled.
At the University of East Anglia, two Palestinian students felt silenced when the police advised staff that allowing their country's flag to be raised on campus did not "look good" for the establishment. As protests continued to take place across the country, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a meeting with vice-chancellors at 17 universities, urging them to take a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitism and address any disruptions to students' learning.
However, protests have been ongoing for months, since Hamas attacked southern Israel in October, resulting in the deaths of over 1,000 people. One student expressed their frustration with feeling like they don't have the freedom to represent themselves and their state, while another felt like an outsider now. The police also advised UEA to monitor a pro-Palestine talk scheduled by student Marxists, and the university's security requested an officer to join their control room to monitor CCTV during a protest on their open day.
In response to requests from the police, universities, including the University of York, have shared footage of protests and personal information of students, which has raised concerns about privacy and the extent of collaboration between universities and the police. However, the University of York has stated that they would only consider sharing this information if a formal request was submitted.
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