ANDREAS MALM, a pro-Palestine academic who was planning to travel to the United Kingdom has been denied entry because the government says his ‘presence in the UK is not considered to be conducive to the public good’.
He was due to appear on a panel alongside Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori.
The UK Home Office cancelled Swedish national Malm’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) on Wednesday.
The decision came a week before Malm was due to appear on a panel organised by the British socialist magazine Tribune in London.
Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action – which the UK has proscribed as a ‘terrorist’ group – is also due to appear on the panel, which will be chaired by Hala Hanina of Palestine Deep Dive.
Malm, a climate activist and author who lectures at Lund University in Sweden, believes his ETA was cancelled because he was due to appear on the panel. He has contacted the Home Office for an explanation but is yet to receive a response.
‘I have been going regularly to the UK for decades. My position on Palestine has always been public,’ he said, adding that his latest visit to the country was in May.
‘I haven’t said anything in public about Palestine during these intervening months or written anything about it. The only thing that could have caused this latest UK decision is that I was due to be on a panel on Wednesday evening, where I would talk to Huda Ammori of Palestine Action.’
Malm used an ETA during his May visit to the UK, which allowed him to travel to the country again later in the year without seeking re-authorisation. He said he had received no indication from the Home Office that his ETA was at risk of being cancelled before receiving an email on Wednesday confirming that it had been revoked.
In its email, the Home Office told Malm that if he wishes to visit the UK, he needs to apply for a visa, after which the office will ‘consider your circumstances in more detail’ before making a decision. However, the government website states that the processing time for a standard visitor visa is three weeks, meaning Malm would not receive it in time for next week’s panel even if his application were approved.
Travellers from countries whose nationals do not require a visa to visit the UK generally need an ETA. These include countries in Europe, the United States and Canada, among others.
The Home Office was asked for clarification on the cancellation of Malm’s ETA and whether it was connected to the event he planned to attend next week. They have not replied.
The cancellation of Malm’s ETA comes amid a wider crackdown on pro-Palestine activists by the UK government, something that began under then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The move classified the Palestine Action campaign group as a ‘terrorist’ organisation under UK law, placing it on the same legal list as groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). The proscription has been condemned by rights groups, including Amnesty International.
Most recently, Irish novelist Sally Rooney’s books were withdrawn from sale in the UK last month due to her public support for Palestine Action.
Rooney has described Malm as a ‘brilliant and influential’ intellectual.
Since Palestine Action was banned, more than 3,850 people have been arrested for publicly backing the group, in largely peaceful protests.
‘This is a drift towards authoritarianism that didn’t begin with me and it’s not going to end with me either,’ Malm warned. ‘If I’m now being deemed a threat to the public good because I’m supposed to have a conversation with someone from Palestine Action, this is guilt by association. Where does it stop?’
In fact, the attempt to impose a ban on Andreas Malm must be fought by the working class and the TUC trade unions otherwise ‘guilt by association’ will become the law. The Labour government must be forced to lift this ban on Malm immediately!