Palestinian law student Dana Abuqamar told Al Jazeera that she had her visa withdrawn after her comments at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Manchester.
The UK Home Office revoked the 19-year-old’s visa, stating she is a “national security” threat following the comments she made last year about the October 7 attacks.
Abuqamar said in her comments: “This is the first time Gaza is actively resisting in 16 years, this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience we are in fear of how Israel will react but we are also full of pride.”
After her comment was broadcast, the final-year law student told the BBC that her words had been misconstrued and that the deaths of any “innocent civilian should not be condoned, ever.”
Following the incident Abuqamar stated: “During this genocide, the UK Home Office decided to revoke my student visa following public statements supporting the Palestinian right to exercise under international law to resist oppression and break through the siege that was illegally placed on Gaza for over 16 years.”
The young student argued: “Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, but it seems to not apply to ethnic minorities, particularly Muslims and Palestinians like myself.”
A spokesperson from the Home Office told Al Jazeera that visas can be revoked in: “instances where people have engaged in unacceptable or extremist behavior, such as activity that fosters hatred, which may lead to inter-community violence, or where the person is associated or has been associated with people involved in terrorism.”
Abuqamar has lost 15 family members during Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
Amid the uprising in pro-Palestine encampments across university campuses, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Thursday: “A vocal minority on our campuses are disrupting the lives and studies of their fellow students and, in some cases, propagating outright harassment and anti-Semitic abuse. That has to stop.”
The Prime Minister has urged UK university board members to “take a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination.” Sunak also announced over 600 thousand dollars in funding for the University Jewish Chaplaincy service to provide welfare services to Jewish students.