Cambridge granted Gaza protest injunction to protect graduations

The University of Cambridge has been granted a court injunction preventing some protests linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict during this year’s graduation season.

Three locations at the heart of the ancient university are covered by the order that restricts access for “persons unknown” until 26 July 2025.

Cambridge had initially sought a similar injunction prohibiting direct action related to the conflict without its consent for a five-year period but reduced this to four months for the latest hearing.

The injunction was granted by the High Court on 21 March after the university convinced the judge there was a “real and imminent” risk of further protests happening on the sites.

Groups including Human Rights organisation Liberty – who had intervened in the case – said the “overreaching” ban set a “dangerous precedent”.

Cambridge has said it needed to act after disruptions to three previous graduation ceremonies, including an encampment set up on Senate House Yard by around 50 people in May last year.

This area, where graduations take place, is now one of those covered by the ban, as well as the Old Schools building and Greenwich House, which has also previously been occupied by protesters.

This action led to concerns that confidential material, including research contracts could have been accessed.

A one-day injunction protecting graduations on 1 March prevented any direct action from taking place, with protesters instead organising outside Great St Mary’s Church, directly opposite Senate House. On 4 March, red paint was sprayed over one of the entrances to the Old Schools Building.

Protesters have called for the university to end its research collaborations with Israeli institutions and stop taking funding from companies that have sold arms to Israel.

Liberty called the injunction “excessive” and said it “will curb students’ right to freedom of expression”.

Ruth Ehrlich, the organisation’s head of advocacy and campaigns, said it would “severely restrict protest rights on campus”.

“Students have long been at the forefront of movements for social change, whether in opposing apartheid or rising tuition fees. It is not right that universities are curbing students’ ability to do so and creating a hostile space for people simply trying to make their voices heard,” she added.

Anna Ost, a senior legal officer for the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) – another of the organisations to intervene in the case – said the university should act “urgently to review their investments” instead of seeking to “silence their critics with this injunction”.

A Cambridge spokesperson welcomed the High Court decision. “We took this action to protect the right of students to graduate and to prevent access to buildings that contain sensitive, confidential information”, they added.

“This was never about preventing lawful protest. The injunction safeguards a very small part of the university estate from an occupation that would prevent graduations from going ahead. It also protects the right for our staff to work.

“Protests occur regularly at the university, including a rally held immediately outside Great St Mary’s church during the last graduation ceremony while an injunction covering the Senate House, a few yards away, was in place.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com