Human rights nonprofit Amnesty International reported escalated restrictions at NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus, alleging that faculty were told criticism of university leadership could lead to prosecution under Emirati law. The report detailed the deportations of a student and instructor at the campus, which the group said are not in compliance with internationally accepted human rights standards.
The report, released Aug. 22, compiled information from student and faculty accounts, a WSN investigation and other public sources to illustrate concerns over restrictions on pro-Palestinian speech and activity at the campus. It came three months after this year’s graduation ceremony at the Abu Dhabi campus saw new policies restricting attire and the deportation of one student, leading to a statement from NYU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
NYU Abu Dhabi provost Arlie Petters told faculty members that criticism of administration at the university’s Washington Square campus — specifically regarding the arrests of students participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations — could subject them to prosecution under Emirati law, according to the report. Amnesty claimed that there is no precedent of prosecution for criticizing “foreign nationals outside the UAE who are not government leaders,” and suggested that Petters aimed to mitigate criticism of the university’s administration rather than protect faculty.
The report also states that a Palestinian instructor was ordered to leave in April “without any explanation or legal recourse.” The order was allegedly conducted by Emirati authorities and delayed for one week by NYU Abu Dhabi administration, before the campus’ dean of students Michael Martinez told students the instructor was deported for their “political opinions relating to Palestine.” The incident preceded the May deportation of a Ph.D. student who held a keffiyeh and yelled “free Palestine” while walking the stage at the graduation ceremony.
In a statement to WSN, NYU Abu Dhabi spokesperson Martin Mbugua said that while the university has academic jurisdiction over the campus, students and faculty are not “immune from local laws.”
“NYU has no authority over any nation’s immigration or law enforcement actions or decisions,” Mbugua said. “This reality is why we undertake substantial efforts to make sure our community members understand the culture and laws in which they pursue their studies and scholarship, and advise them clearly and repeatedly about expectations, obligations and boundaries.”
The graduate’s deportation took place amid unprecedented restrictions for the year’s commencement, which only allowed students to wear “approved academic attire” and prohibited bags or any item “not required” for the ceremony. A graduating senior previously told WSN that NYU Abu Dhabi vice chancellor Mariët Westermann spoke to students leading up to the ceremony and “claimed that keffiyehs and cultural gear had always been banned, and that this is the first year they were enforcing it.” Footage from previous commencements — which was reviewed by WSN and Amnesty — showed dozens of students wearing keffiyehs.
The report outlined five events NYU Abu Dhabi had denied permission for — including a vigil, a talk with a guest author and a Palestinian poetry night — and a sixth event that the administration did not permit until organizers changed advertising language to no longer include the words “resistance” and “solidarity.” It also detailed that at least eight faculty members were summoned to interrogations with the UAE Ministry of Interior after holding a teach-in last October, some of whom were held for over 10 hours overnight.
“The stifling of speech and expression that we have seen here at NYU in New York has been even more alarming on the Abu Dhabi campus, because of the threatening reality of deportation and imprisonment on the Abu Dhabi authorities,” Andrew Ross, a member of the AAUP, wrote to WSN. “We have been shocked to see students and faculty arrested here in New York at the request of the administration, but the lack of civil rights in Abu Dhabi makes it even worse.”
Amnesty stated that the Emirati government’s “arbitrary” detention and deportations are not in compliance with “customary international law.” The report also stated that universities “have a due diligence responsibility to identify and prevent any human rights violations by foreign state actors,” as per the United Nations guiding principles on business and human rights, and that NYU’s administration has “not yet taken remedial actions.” The organization claimed it emailed university leadership on July 2 to request comments on the events detailed in the report, but did not receive a reply as of the report’s publication.
Contact Dharma Niles and Krish Dev at [email protected].
