Dismissal of Elected SU President

King’s College London Students’ Union (KCLSU) has undemocratically disqualified Hassan Ali from his position as SU President for the upcoming academic year 2024/25. After previously suspending Hassan from his role in the SU for speaking out against Israeli settler-colonialism and genocide, the same autocratic decision has been made again. This outrageous action is a direct assault on student democracy and a blatant attempt to silence pro-Palestinian and Muslim voices on campus.

We, KCL Stands 4 Justice, along with KCL Students for Justice for Palestine Society and KCL Palestine Action stand firmly with Hassan Ali who was elected with over 1200 votes, achieving the greatest margin in the 200-year history of KCLSU. His electoral victory must be respected and must be reinstated as SU President, as he was democratically elected to represent the student body at King’s.

This incident is not an isolated one. Chief Executive Officer Denis Shukur has previously suspended 3 Muslim sabbatical officers - Sadaf, Alizeh, and Hassan - without the approval of the Board of Trustees, for speaking out against the zionist genocide of Gaza. We vehemently condemn his and KCL’s actions. This latest attempt to remove Hassan Ali is a clear continuation of suppression of Palestinian support on campus.

This exposes to us, once again, the reality of the SU as an organ of the imperialist institution that is the University. All concerns about transparency, fairness, and integrity of the electoral process, will be now brought to the forefront - with the responsibility falling on those undermining student trust in the Union’s leadership.

Over the past few weeks, we have been in negotiations with KCL management, with one of our demands being to protect the right to protest and uphold academic freedom of pro-Palestinian voices on campus. Disqualifying Hassan Ali due to his outspoken support for Palestine counteracts these efforts and demonstrates a blatant disregard for our demands.

We stand firmly with Hassan Ali and demand the revocation of these unjust and undemocratic actions. This suppression is a gross violation of the fundamental values of freedom of speech that KCLSU claims to uphold. We will not recognise any other alternative as KCLSU president or any other zionist status quo imposed on us.

Echoing the words of George Jackson, “true freedom is not simply the absence of shackles, but the dismantling of systems that oppress.”

KCLSU must stop upholding systems of Islamophobic, racist, and zionist oppression.

WE WILL NOT STOP WE WILL NOT REST - Hassan for SU President.