UK prosecutors drop case against academic over posts related to 7 October attack

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has dropped a case against an academic after her employer, the University of Portsmouth, referred her to Prevent for a series of posts, resulting in counterterrorism officers raiding her house and confiscating electronic devices. 

Amira Abdelhamid is a lecturer in international relations at the University of Portsmouth. Last year, the university suspended her after she posted a series of posts on X related to the 7 October attacks.

During a meeting in mid-October, the university said she was suspended and referred to the Prevent programme, accusing her of bringing the university's name into disrepute and supporting a proscribed group. 

Two months after her suspension, counterterrorism police raided Abdelhamid's home, arrested Abdelhamid and confiscated her personal belongings, including electronic devices such as her laptop, phone, Kindle and a protest sign with "Palestine" written in Arabic. Notebooks containing Arabic writing and powder eyeliner were also taken.

Commenting on her experiences over the last few months, Abdelhamid described it as a "relief" but "nothing compared to what Palestinians are going through in Gaza".

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