University accused of spying on students and staff who back Palestine and giving information to the police

Martin Shipton

Cardiff University has been accused of “spying” on students and staff who have participated in pro-Palestine protests and passing information inappropriately to South Wales Police.

The allegation, which is vehemently denied by the university, follows the release of email correspondence between university officials and representatives of the force to a student group following a request made under the Freedom of Information Act.

Altogether, emails amounting to 144 pages have been disclosed to a group called Caerdydd Students 4 Palestine.

Some of the material is innocuous, while there are also exchanges relating to an incident outside Cardiff Bay police station that resulted in students and a member of the university’s staff being arrested and released on bail.

Other interactions between the university and South Wales Police are regarded by those who have been involved in the protests as wholly inappropriate.

Iranian students

In April 2024 a police employee wrote to Cardiff University asking how many Iranian students there were at the university. A university official responded: “We have 84 students who have declared their nationality or dual nationality as Iranian, who are identified as current students and who have a mode of attendance that indicates attendance on campus.”

Previously one South Wales Police employee had written to another stating: “Linked with international tensions, can you see if you and your fine colleagues can establish with our partners how many Iranian students may be across Cardiff, so we can have some idea of the numbers we may need to support / be vulnerable as conflict escalates.”

In June 2024, South Wales Police wrote to Cardiff University in connection with an upcoming Palestine Solidarity Campaign event stating: “Unions are demanding action against universities and Barclays Bank on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 of June. Various pro-Palestine groups, trade unions and other activist groups are planning to hold protests … due to their links with arms companies and investment funds that support Israel. Assessment: we are monitoring numerous sources and it’s likely a number of universities will be targeted. There is likely to be a fairly substantial turnout based on other recent demonstrations across the HE sector. The size of the protest combined with the potentially inflammatory and emotional nature of the cause for pro-Palestine supporters means disruption is possible.”

In May 2024 an email was sent from South Wales Police to Cardiff University stating: “Morning. Just for info, one of the main people who organises the Saturday protest events has appeared on Instagram this morning heading to Egypt. However, there are plenty of others that do take the lead otherwise. [Redacted] from my team will also be used at the event, so will link in with the two PCSOs and [redacted]. I’ll email [redacted] and the intel team … but not be complacent because one person has left. Cheers.”

A university official responded: “Thanks for coming back to me. This is reassuring and will land well with our understandably apprehensive senior leadership team.”

Social media sources

In advance of a protest event being planned in May 2024, a police employee wrote to the university saying: “Good to meet you this morning to discuss this possible event. As agreed I have passed on the social media sources you highlighted to our intelligence team to see what else they can pick up.”

In March 2024 a police employee wrote to the university saying: “Hi. Let me know when you can about the other events / protests. I have to create an occurrence per event so the intel department can monitor it. I’ll check with them if they want you to email them as well as me with those bits because [redacted].”

In July 2024, at the time of a graduation ceremony, an email was sent by a Cardiff University official to the police saying: “Afternoon. Thank you for getting in touch. A very minor incidence of [secret] flag bearing so far. A student linked to protest was managed very well by Cardiff University security. We think [redacted] might have been planning something but [redacted] had words before today’s ceremony and [redacted] only ended up showing a Palestine flag while crossing the stage. Very grateful for all the support. Best regards [redacted].”

In May 2024 a Cardiff University official wrote to South Wales Police saying: “Hi [redacted]. Googled him. Looks like a researcher on globalisation and empire building. We had extra staff working from 3pm for the April event and they are aware of this one too, so there shouldn’t be issues with this one.” It appears that the reference was to a talk being given called Fighting War and Imperialism: Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza by a speaker called Prodromos Panayiotopoulos.

In May 2024 the police wrote to Cardiff University stating: “Speaker attending Cardiff Uni encampment, 6pm, Friday May 24. Rahma Zein is an Egyptian journalist known for her viral confrontation with CNN reporter Clarissa Ward at the Rafah Border Crossing on October 20 2023. She is a podcaster / vlogger and many of her podcasts have gone viral. She has views that are pro-Palestine and not supportive of Israel. Planning: I have added to the event sheet. University policing – FYI and can you let the uni security know.”

Senate

Dr Andy Buerki, an executive committee member of the Cardiff University branch of the University and College Union, also sits on the university’s Senate, the senior forum for academic staff to shape academic strategy, as well as examine plans and raise issues of importance to the University. He supports peaceful protest against the actions of Israel in Gaza, which have led to the issuing of arrest warrants alleging war crimes against the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Asked about the contents of the FoI disclosure, Dr Buerki told Nation.Cymru: “There are quite a lot of redactions, so there is material that we can’t see. Some of them are to protect the identity of individuals, but others refer to national security. What they have disclosed is what they deemed safe enough for us to know about.

“Because of that there is no smoking gun in the material that would show that something illegal has taken place or that rules of the university have been broken in passing information to the police.

“What can be said, however, is that there is clearly a very cosy relationship between the university, particularly its security department, and South Wales Police.”

Dr Buerki said he found it disturbing that some of the information passed by the university to the police had no bearing on anything that could be construed as relating to potential criminality.

“There are lots of pictures of obviously innocent placards and of speakers at demonstrations,” he said. “I cannot see the justification for that. The university has in effect been keeping students and staff who have participated in the protests under surveillance. It amounts to spying on individuals who have done nothing wrong and have committed no offence. To me, this is quite awful and has a chilling effect.”

A Cardiff University spokesperson said: “We reject entirely the suggestion that we have “spied” or have put our staff or students “under surveillance”. We enjoy a good working relationship with South Wales Police’s university liaison team. Where appropriate, this involves the exchange of relevant information. This is not unique to Cardiff University. It helps ensure the safety of all our University community, which remains our ultimate priority.”

Balance

A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: “South Wales Police supports the right for people to make their voices heard through protest providing it is done lawfully. Decisions about how to police protests requires consideration of complex and often competing rights and issues.

“We strive to strike a balance in our policing approach and take measures to ensure that the rights of all parties are respected and upheld. However, we will act against anyone who breaks the law, whether this is at the time of the offence or retrospectively.

“South Wales Police is open to dialogue and collaboration with advocacy groups to address any concerns about the policing of protest activity and ensure that policing practices reflect the values of fairness, equality, and justice.”