As trade unionists and educators we are alarmed by the escalation in repression directed at activists in the Palestine solidarity movement and the censorship and attacks on freedom of expression accompanying this clampdown. Student activists who have been at the forefront of movements exposing the complicity of the British government and universities in the ongoing genocide in Palestine are paying a heavy personal price for their bravery.

Qesser Zuhrah, a student at University College London, entered day 46 of a hunger strike on 17 December while being held without trial for alleged offences related to direct action which destroyed weapons destined for Israel.

We call for Qesser’s immediate release, along with the other defendants in the Filton24 case many of whom have been systematically brutalised while in prison despite not being convicted of any crime. We are deeply concerned for Qesser’s health and for the others who have taken part in long hunger strikes to highlight the denial of their basic rights: Amu Gibb, Jon Cink, Heba Muraisi, Tueta Hoxha, Kamran Ahmed, Lewie Chiaramello.

The hunger strikers are demanding bail and the right to a fair trial. They are also calling for an end to censorship so that they can send and receive mail, to be able to access books freely and to have their security clearance changed. They have been victimised by the prison authorities since the proscription of Palestine Action.

Other student activists who have faced severe repression include Haya Adam, who was expelled by SOAS for breaching its draconian anti-protest policy, after being targeted with a High Court Injunction for her pro-Palestine activism. We are alarmed by reports that Haya was one of several people arrested on 17 December during a protest in solidarity with the hunger strikers outside the Ministry of Justice, and call for the release of all those detained.

We are appalled by the decision of Kings College London management to suspend student Usama Ghanem for his Palestine solidarity activism, leading to the potential revocation of his visa and exposing him to risks of imprisonment and torture if he is forced to return to Egypt.

We oppose the move by the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police to make arrests on the grounds that “placards and chants such as ‘globalise the intifada’” are antisemitic by default and reject the claim that the abhorrent racist attacks on Jewish people in Sydney and Manchester are the result of people expressing their solidarity with Palestinians by reference to a tradition of mass uprisings. The term “intifada” is not specifically Palestinian but is widely used in Arabic to describe mass popular protests. To ban its use during demonstrations is yet another example of police censorship.

We call on our trade unions, the wider Palestine solidarity movement and civil society to work together to protect the lives of the hunger strikers, defend the right to protest and end Britain’s shameful role in enabling Israel’s crimes of apartheid, occupation and genocide.

We pledge to continue organising in solidarity with Palestine and to hold those responsible for this repression to account.