Amnesty International condemns “repression” of protests at US universities

Amnesty International has condemned what it called the “racist and oppressive treatment” of Palestinian rights protests at US universities, noting that protesting what is happening in Gaza has become “a matter of great importance”.

She said in a statement Wednesday night that protests condemning Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip and generally supporting Palestinian rights on some university campuses have been “prevented by the racist and oppressive practices of university administrations.”

She explained that these practices run counter to universities’ need to “facilitate and protect their students’ right to protest.”

“University administrations went to great lengths to suppress the protests, even involving local authorities and demanding arrests, while punishing students participating in peaceful protests.”

In a statement, the human rights organization (based in London) condemned the position of the administrations of some leading universities in the United States, especially in Columbia and Texas, and their use of the police to disperse pro-Palestinian demonstrators and the arrest of a number of students who participated in these rallies .

Amnesty International called on university administrations in the United States to “protect and facilitate the right of all students to peacefully and safely protest and organize counter-protests on their campuses”.