An open letter on freedom of expression and protest on Palestine by the European social movement studies community

As social movement scholars we express strong concerns about the growing trend to restrict the right of expression, critique, and protest in several countries in Europe. Especially in relation to pro-Palestinian protests, university administrations have called police to campuses, with ensuing use of intimidation and force by police, often in riot gear, against peaceful protestors. Politicians of different parties have defamed students as well as members of the academic staff who have intervened in support of the right to protest, accusing them of supporting violence, while proposing new laws and regulations oriented to increase the means for political repression through the expulsion of students and the firing of staff members. Mainstream media and pressure groups have contributed through law-and-order campaigns, supporting the calls for more and more restrictive legislation, as well as launching smear campaigns against individual protesters and scholars who have signed petitions for the right to free speech . University administrations have in some cases used their power to threaten or even suspend and fire employees exercising their right to freedom of speech, petition, and assembly, which must also be understood in relation to the proliferation of precarious and fixed-term university positions.