European Legal Support Center

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European Legal Support Center

The ELSC defends and empowers Palestine advocates across mainland Europe and Britain through legal means, monitoring, research and advocacy efforts.

The ELSC intervenes to end arbitrary restrictions and criminalization of peaceful advocacy and humanitarian work. It also tackles corporate impunity for human rights abuses and strengthens accountability by engaging in strategic litigation in support of civil society. The Center was established in January 2019 as a joint initiative of European jurists, the Palestinian civil society network PNGO and the Dutch NGO The Rights Forum – which is kindly hosting the ELSC in Amsterdam. In order to effectively support the Palestine solidarity movement in Europe, the ELSC combines monitoring, defensive strategies, impact litigation, trainings and advocacy.

09/10/2026

Palestinian author susan abulhawa has won her two-year fight against the Oxford Union's censorship.Her speech, cut without her consent, is now back in full.

08/10/2026

LEGAL VICTORY: Palestinian author susan abulhawa , represented by ELSC, has won her two-year fight against the Oxford Union’s censorship of her speech on the motion “This House believes Israel is an apartheid state engaged in genocide.”

Her speech belongs in the historical record of Israel’s livestreamed genocide in Gaza. Future generations will look back on it as an archive that helps them make sense of this dark moment in human history.

Watch the full, uncensored speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Y-aycEqs0

Donate to our legal fund to help us continue to defend others. https://elsc.support/donate/

23/09/2026

De Nederlandse overheid wil het makkelijker maken om politieke dissidenten te vervolgen zoals organisaties, groepen, en individuen die zich verzetten tegen Nederlands steun aan Israëls genocide in Palestina. Dit wil het Kabinet-Jetten bewerkstelligen door een wet in te voeren dat het "verheerlijken" van "terrorisme" strafbaar gaat stellen, een flexibel label voor het kabinet om in te zetten op basis van hoe het hen het best uitkomt. In Nederland kunnen we dit wetsvoorstel nog stoppen: lees onze briefing en onderneem actie!

The Dutch government wants to make it easier to prosecute political dissidents especiallyas organisations, groups, and individuals who resist Dutch complicity in Israel’s genocide in Palestine. The Dutch Cabinet intends to achieve this by introducing a new law that will make the "glorification" of "terrorism" a criminal offence, an elastic label that the cabinet can utilise based on what serves them best. In the Netherlands we can still stop this bill; read our briefing and take action!

17/09/2026

A FOI request is a tool to expose what universities fight to keep hidden.

Want to know how to obtain information on the complicity of Dutch universities in the Israeli genocide and settler colonialism in Palestine and their repression and surveillance of those who resist this complicity? Then swipe, read, and listen to learn more about Freedom of Information (FOI) requests (Woo-verzoeken) in the Netherlands, straight from FOI expert Tim Staal from Expertisecentrum SPOON!

Need support with your FOI request, no matter what stage you are in? Reach out to the ELSC via our intake form

https://elsc.support/intake/

16/09/2026

ustrian Universities evade new Freedom of Information law shielding complicity in Israel’s genocide

Despite Austria's new Freedom of Information Act which grants the right to obtain any information from state authorities and public-sector organisations upon request, we have, as of now, been met with obstructive responses and denied effective access to information about collaborations with Israeli institutions by the University of Graz, the University of Vienna, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, the University of Applied Arts Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Innsbruck.

READ FULL TEXT:https://elsc.support/austrian-universities-are-trying-to-evade-new-freedom-of-information-law-shielding-complicity-in-israels-genocide-from-public-scrutiny/

31/08/2026

Kommt vorbei, informiert euch sprecht mit uns und mit Rechtsanwalt Matthias Seipel auf der kostenlosen Informationsveranstaltung des ELSC "Das Verbot des Frankfurter Vereins Palästina e.V."

Am Mittwoch, 02.09.2026, um 19:00 Uhr
im Türkischen Volkshaus, Werrastraße 29, 60486 Frankfurt am Main

Kürzlich wurde der Frankfurter Verein Palästina e.V. durch das Hessische Innenministerium verboten. Darauf folgte unteranderem eine Reihe von Hausdurchsuchungen. Die Verbotsverfügung richtet sich auch gegen Personen, Social-Media-Accounts und palästinasolidarische Initiativen, die nie Teil des Vereins waren.

Für die Betroffenen bedeutet das Verbot massive Eingriffe in ihre demokratischen Grundrechte.

Für diese Veranstaltung hat das European Legal Support Center (ELSC) Rechtsanwalt Matthias Seipel geladen, der Betroffene vertritt und Auskunft über die Begründung des Verbots in Frankfurt, seine konkreten Auswirkungen und den größeren politischen Kontext der zunehmenden Repression gegen die Palästina-Solidarität geben wird.

KEINE ANMELDUNG ERFORDERLICH

20/08/2026

📌 ELSC Senior Legal Officer, Rechtsanwältin Nadija Samour, sowie die ELSC Partner-Rechtsanwältinnen Leonora Arslani und Yolanda Scheytt, führen seit Jahren erfolgreich Verfahren gegen die Kriminalisierung der Äußerung von "Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea" - in dieser Informationsveranstaltung werden sie Einblicke in ihre Prozessführung geben und dabei insbesondere auch auf wissenschaftliche Gutachten und deren richterliche Behandlung und Bewertung eingehen.

Die Informationsveranstaltung richtet sich nicht nur an ein juristisches Fachpublikum, sondern wird juristische Vorgänge für ein breites Publikum veranschaulichen. Die Veranstaltung findet in deutscher Sprache statt.

10/08/2026

📌 NEW ARTICLE ON THE ELSC BLOG!

The Limits of Human Rights Credibility: The repression of Palestine Solidarity in Germany

Germany disregarded recommendations made by both the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) for Freedom of Opinion and Expression.

In this article, the ELSC Europe work team shows how Germany disregarded recommendations made by both bodies – but argues how the visits and their findings still matter.

06/08/2026

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) is supporting Nadia Sawalha in taking legal action against ITV.

After speaking publicly in support of Palestine and against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Nadia was removed from ITV daytime show Loose Women. ELSC has written to ITV alleging discrimination based on Nadia’s protected anti-Zionist beliefs under the Equality Act 2010.

We are calling on ITV to apologise to Nadia, and guarantee that she will not face further sanctions for her lawful speech on Palestine.

This case is about more than just Nadia. No one should lose their livelihood for speaking out against injustice or standing in solidarity with Palestine.

05/08/2026

Wir wissen, dass viele Gruppen und Individuen von anti-Palästinensischer Repression betroffen sind. Deshalb haben wir zuletzt einen Ratgeber veröffentlicht.

Dieses Beratungsangebot wollen wir mit dieser Know-Your-Rights Veranstaltung vertiefen. Mit diesem kostenlosen Informationsangebot möchten wir euch helfen und gemeinsam mit euch Klarheit schaffen - zu einer Situation, die leider auch stark verunsichern kann.

Wir laden euch ein ELSC Senior Legal Officer, Rechtsanwältin Nadija Samour & Rechtsexperten Dr. Benjamin Rusteberg direkt eure Fragen zu stellen.

This event is planned and will be hosted as an event in German language – posing questions in English however is welcomed and we can answer these questions in English

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http://www.elsc.support/

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