Palestinian student Dana Abuqamar wins appeal against decision to revoke her UK visa

A UK court has blocked the British government’s decision to cancel the visa of a Palestinian student after she spoke at a pro-Palestine rally in Manchester.

An appeal court in Manchester ruled that Dana Abuqamar, who is a dual Canadian-Jordanian citizen, had her visa wrongfully revoked by the UK Home Office.

Judge Melanie Plimmer said the Home Office had violated Abuqamar’s human rights and her ability to practise freedom of speech by revoking her student visa.

Plimmer accepted Abuqamar's testimony that she did not support atrocities against Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023 and that her viewpoint is rooted in a belief "that Palestinians should seek their rights in a lawful and proportionate way and any resistance on their part should be grounded in law".

The judge emphasised that Abuqamar "is not an extremist" and added that she "had no clear knowledge of the role of Hamas at that stage and certainly had no intention of conveying support for Hamas or the terrorist atrocities against civilians committed in the 7 October attack".

Commenting on her legal victory, Abuqamar said "justice has prevailed" and she was happy with the result.

"This case has reinforced Palestinians’ right to resist occupation in the domestic context; that the expression in support of that right cannot be conflated with support for terrorism; that there is no room for abuse of power by ministers and arbitrary decision-making to undermine the rule of law," Abuqamar said in a statement. 

'I hope that this ruling inspires and strengthens supporters of the Palestinian movement to continue advocating against Israel’s flagrant violations of international law'

- Dana Abuqamar

"I hope that this ruling inspires and strengthens supporters of the Palestinian movement to continue advocating against Israel’s flagrant violations of international law. I am grateful to the ELSC [European Legal Support Center], my legal team, comrades, friends and family for their support throughout the whole process."

Last year, the Home Office revoked Abuqamar's visa on "national security" grounds after claiming she was a risk to public safety.

Court documents reveal that the government revoked her visa after the then immigration minister Robert Jenrick had personally intervened in the case after Abuqamar made her speech in support of Palestine.

The Home Office then determined the national security grounds to justify revoking her visa by referring the case to its Special Cases Unit, which approached the National Community Tensions Team (NCTT), the Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU), and Homeland Security Analysis Insight (HSAI).

RICU said Abuqamar posed no threat, but the NCTT and HSAI claimed she supported Hamas because the Manchester Friends of Palestine group had a "relationship with Friends of Al Aqsa".

Abuqamar, who has lost 15 relatives in Gaza since Israel began its bombardment of the besieged enclave, believes the UK government revoked her visa last year after she made a speech in Manchester.

She faced criticism for her speech in which she said, "We are full of pride, we are really, full of joy at what has happened”, following the 7 October attacks on Israel.

Abuqamar later told the BBC that her comments were misrepresented and that "the death of any innocent civilian should not be condoned ever, and we don't condone it at all".

“The Home Office has claimed that my presence in the UK threatens national security. They have said the statements I make support extremist views - keep in mind I am a 19-year-old student who studies and supports social justice campaigns through volunteering or advocating for human rights," Abuqamar said.