An Amnesty International report has criticised UK Universities’ responses to pro-Palestine protests on campus, including the University of Edinburgh.
The ‘Silencing Dissent’ report, published on 20 October, claimed that universities across the UK have “restricted students’ and academics’ speech and protest in solidarity with Palestinians.”
It alleges that the universities “work together” to share their security planning, within “a network which encouraged repressive responses.”
Furthermore, the report claims that, through their responses, universities have failed to fulfil their legal human rights obligations.
This included infringing on freedom of expression through instances of censorship and “disproportionately and unlawfully restricted speech perceived as critical of Israel.”
The University of Edinburgh received two specific mentions in the report’s case studies.
The first claims that the university gave an “inadequate response to a knife attack at Palestine solidarity protest.”
Occurring on 28 March 2025, the attack saw a member of the public slash a student in the face with a knife.
Amnesty International’s interviewees claimed that “Students present reported to university security that the man verbally abused students, shouting Islamophobic and racist slurs, and attempted to pull off hijabs from Muslim women.”
The report highlights that allegedly “despite the visible presence of a weapon and the attacker’s escalating aggression, security officers refused to intervene directly, saying they needed to consult a line manager.”
In the words of the report, security failed to “take reasonable steps to prevent or mitigate foreseeable harm,” thereby not fulfilling their protective responsibility.
Following the incident, Ben Law, the victim of the attack, “received a standard wellbeing referral, like that offered for routine academic stress.”
Law told Amnesty International that he “no longer believed the institution had his or other students’ best interests at heart.”
A spokesperson for the university told The Student that they “dispute the framing of these events in the report.”
They said: “Safety on campus is our utmost priority and we condemn any violence in our community in the strongest terms. We respect the right to peaceful protest and our security team routinely attend events including protests, irrespective of the focus, to ensure wellbeing.
“Security provide immediate support during and after any incident at any event, and work closely with external stakeholders and other groups to ensure our approach to safety is as effective and appropriate as possible.”
At the time, the University said that “Team members were present at Friday’s protest and provided immediate support to those affected during and after the incident.”
Another case study accused the University of Edinburgh of “Desecration of the Martyrs’ Memorial at the University of Edinburgh.”
According to the report, during the 2024 encampment on Old College Quad, students erected a memorial including photographs of Palestinians killed in Gaza, candles, and handwritten messages.
Less than 24 hours after students dismantled their encampment, however, “the university’s staff removed the memorial and discarded its contents in public rubbish bins, including photographs and messages written by students.”
The report interviewed students, who said that: “when questioned by them, the university’s vice-chancellor gave conflicting explanations — at times describing the removal as a standard ‘clean-up job’ and at others denying knowing who had authorised it.
“Students accused the university of evasiveness and a lack of accountability. The vice-chancellor declined requests to apologise publicly or to participate in or endorse a second memorial,” the report continued.
This incident was linked to another, in which “in 2023 student group Geographers Against Genocide had set up a small tribute installation of Palestinian names in a common room, only for it to be removed by the university without warning.”
The report goes on to claim that “This act, students argued, reflected a broader pattern of institutional repression and racist double standards.
“They reported feeling that Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students were treated with suspicion and denied the right to grieve publicly.”
Students in the report claim that Palestinian memorials were treated as less important than other commemorative events: “in their [students’] view, events commemorating Israeli victims went ahead with official backing whereas Palestinian memorials were denied legitimacy and respect.”
For example, the report highlights a vigil in October 2023 which was attended by the vice-chancellor, to commemorate hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.
The university told Amnesty International that it could “see no evidence that it has treated a request for a public memorial for Palestinian victims of conflict differently from any other such request.”
A spokesperson for the university told The Student: “The University promotes equality and diversity across all that we do, seeking to eliminate any form of discrimination and create an inclusive culture that enriches the lives of everyone studying, teaching and working with us.
“We work hard to ensure that all members of its diverse community feel supported and able to participate fully in campus life.”
The report made several recommendations to universities across the UK, including encouraging them to “commit to Amnesty International’s Defend Dissent Charter,” guaranteeing protesting rights and freedom of expression for students.
It also asked them to review and “commit to provid[ing] remedies” to disciplinary actions associated with Palestine-related expression dating back to 2023.
Photography by Cordelia Murray-Brown for The Student.
