May 15, 2024

Photo Credit: Paul Bersebach | Orange County Register

(LOS ANGELES, CA – 5/15/2024) – The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today demanded that the University of California, Irvine (UCI) respect anti-genocide student protesters’ rights to free speech and assembly. It also demanded that the university administration and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department not use excessive force against the student protesters.

SEE: Police converge on pro-Palestinian protest at UC Irvine after building is occupied

Earlier this afternoon, police issued a dispersal order to students participating in the UCI Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Officers from the Cypress, Orange, La Palma, and Orange County police departments wearing full body armor and face shields have been deployed to the protest site and have allegedly threatened to forcibly remove and arrest student protesters.

The peaceful anti-genocide encampment was established last month on the university’s campus as part of a nationwide student movement calling on colleges and universities to divest from companies tied to Israeli apartheid and profiting off the current atrocities being committed against the people of Gaza.  

In a statement, CAIR-LA Legal Director Amr Shabaik said:

“We strongly condemn UCI’s militarized police response to its students who are exercising their constitutional right to engage in peaceful protest against Israel’s genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. These students have been engaging in nonviolent speech, and UCI must cease all attempts to intimidate and chill free speech, including the militant use of law enforcement to forcefully remove peaceful protests. We are extremely concerned that UCI is choosing to punish students for constitutionally protected speech, especially since this police activity comes on the heels of numerous student suspensions and disciplinary actions.

“Yet again, UCI continues to be another in a long list of academic institutions that seem to be implementing a Palestine exception to free speech and using intimidation, harassment, and excessive force against students participating in peaceful protest and assembly on their own campus. UCI must call off the officers and ensure the protection of its students’ safety and constitutional rights.”

CAIR-LA currently has staff at UCI monitoring the situation for the safety and free speech rights of the students and faculty.

CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims. 

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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Coordinator Madi Morse-Hameed, mmorse-hameed@cair.com