BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom
The BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom was set up to monitor and defend academic freedom in the research, study and teaching of Middle East Studies in the UK and anywhere in the world, including in academic institutions in the Middle East and North Africa.
To learn more about how the committee works, please see the Terms of Reference.
The current Chair of the BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom is Lewis Turner (Senior Lecturer in International Politics, Newcastle University).
Latest Statement/Letter
The BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom and BRISMES Council have written to the Metropolitan Police and the Greater Manchester Police to express our serious concern regarding recent arrests of Palestine solidarity protesters for holding placards or chanting slogans that include the phrase “Globalise the intifada”. On the information available publicly, these arrests appear to reflect a troubling and unwarranted criminalisation of political speech and to risk inconsistent application of the protections guaranteed under domestic human rights law.
We urge the Metropolitan Police and the Greater Manchester Police to:
- Review any operational guidance that treats the phrase “Globalise the intifada” as inherently criminal, threatening, or indicative of terrorism;
- Cease arrests of protesters solely for using this language (absent clear evidence meeting the legal threshold for criminal offences such as incitement);
- Ensure that assessments of political speech in languages other than English are informed by appropriately qualified linguistic and regional expertise, and by context and intent; and
- Reaffirm their commitment to upholding freedom of expression and peaceful protest without discrimination.
23 January 2026
Previous Statements
Please find here the list of statements published by the Committee on Academic Freedom.
Previous Letters
Please find here the list of public letters published by the Committee on Academic Freedom.
Database of Expertise
The Database of Expertise in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies provides a publicly available list of MENA experts with their research and areas of expertise.
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