LONDON: A Palestinian student has won an appeal against the UK government after her student visa was revoked in 2023 due to statements on the Gaza situation that the Home Office deemed “not conducive to the public good.”

The Home Office had stripped Dana Abu Qamar, a dual Jordanian-Canadian citizen of Palestinian origin and University of Manchester student, of her visa after concluding that her remarks on Gaza’s resistance to Israel posed a risk to public safety.

However, a tribunal overturned the ruling on Wednesday, declaring that her comments did not constitute extremism.

Court documents show that her visa was revoked after the then-immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, intervened in the case. Qamar, who leads the Friends of Palestine society at the university, stated that his involvement “sends a chilling message to activists,” calling it part of a “brutal crackdown.”

The tribunal’s judgment also concluded that Abu Qamar’s reference to Israel as an “apartheid” state aligned with views held by multiple human rights organizations and found her language around “actively resisting” and “breaking free” to be consistent with lawful expressions of Palestinian resistance. The court also determined she was “not an extremist.”

Commenting on her legal victory, Qamar said “justice has prevailed” and that she was happy with the result.

“This ruling validates the right to voice support for human rights for the plight of Palestinians and the right to resist occupation,” she said on Wednesday.

Her statements, which initially attracted government scrutiny, came during a speech at a pro-Palestine rally in Manchester, in which she remarked, “We are full of pride, we are really, full of joy at what has happened,” referencing the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel.

Later, in a BBC interview, she clarified her stance, saying: “The death of any innocent civilian should not be condoned ever, and we don’t condone it at all.”

Abu Qamar, who has lost 22 relatives in Gaza during Israel’s ongoing campaign and whose paternal grandparents were displaced by the 1948 Nakba, reiterated her opposition to harm against civilians, adding: “I’ve always been of the position that I never have or never will condone harm to innocent civilians. It doesn’t align with who I am as a person, with my character and with my views. I’ve made that explicitly clear throughout and I’m glad that the court has seen that.”

KUALA LUMPUR: A Meta Platforms official on Wednesday criticized Malaysia’s plan to require social media platforms to apply for a regulatory license by January, saying the proposal lacked clear guidelines and gave social companies little time to comply, risking digital innovation and growth in the country.
Malaysia said in July it will require social media platforms and messaging services with more than eight million users to obtain a license, as part of efforts to curb financial scams, cyberbullying and sexual crimes online.
The companies could face legal action if they failed to do so by Jan. 1, 2025.
The plan has faced a backlash, with an Asian industry group that includes Meta urging the government in August to pause the move. Malaysia however has said it will not delay the proposed regulations, with Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil saying tech companies must comply with local laws to continue operating the country.
Meta’s director of public policy for Southeast Asia Rafael Frankel said the firm has not yet decided if it plans to apply for the license ahead of the January deadline, due to a lack of clarity over the new regulations.
The timeline to apply for a license was “exceptionally accelerated” and the obligations for social media firms under the plan remained unclear, Frankel said in an interview with Reuters.
“These regulations tend to take a couple years to go through multiple iterations... to properly structure them and to balance the need for safety and ensure that you don’t inadvertently cap innovation and digital economic growth,” he said.
Malaysia’s communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the interview.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday following a meeting with Meta representatives a day earlier, communications minister Fahmi thanked the company for its willingness to cooperate with the government but urged it to take more proactive measures against sexual content involving minors on its platforms.
Frankel said Meta shared the Malaysian government’s goal for a safe online environment and was working closely with the communications regulator to remove or restrict harmful content from its platforms.
“We don’t need a licencing regime in order to take online safety seriously. We already take it seriously,” he said.
Meta has shared its concerns with the government and hopes to “bridge the differences” over the proposed regulations before they are implemented, Frankel added, without providing details.
Malaysian authorities deem online gambling, scams, child pornography and grooming, cyberbullying and content related to race, religion and royalty as harmful.
Malaysia reported a sharp increase in harmful social media content earlier this year and urged social media firms, including Facebook parent Meta and short video platform TikTok (8645.HK), to step up monitoring on their platforms.