Students face disciplinary hearing over Palestine solidarity campaign at Australian university

ISTANBUL (AA) – Disciplinary hearing has begun for 21 students at Melbourne University for participating in a Free Palestine sit-in protest.

The hearings began on Wednesday, with dozens of people, including students and academics, gathering to show their support for the accused students. They had earlier received “general misconduct notices” for raising voice for the people of Gaza tens of thousands of whom have been killed by Israel in recent months.

Speaking after the hearing, Dana Al-Shaer, one of the defendants, claimed the punishment was due to their activism against the university’s ties with arms manufacturers, not the sit-in itself.

Holding a Palestinian flag in one hand, Shaer showed a piece of paper showing CCTV footage that the university used as evidence of her involvement in the sit-in.

The university’s use of CCTV footage and WiFi data as evidence has prompted an investigation into possible privacy breaches.

The hearing took place after Australia’s appointment of Jillian Segal, a person who had previously stressed the importance of universities taking disciplinary action against those found to have engaged in “antisemitic” acts, as the country’s first antisemitism envoy on Tuesday.

The university’s actions are part of a broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian student activism across Australia. The Australian National University has expelled two students for their activism, while Monash, La Trobe and Deakin universities have also issued misconduct notices to students.