Students chant during a pro-Palestinian protest at Emory University on April 25, 2024, in Atlanta. (Photo by ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
ATLANTA - The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia) is filing a lawsuit against Emory University on behalf of a Palestinian-American student they say was suspended for speaking out about Gaza.
The lawsuit also names the Emory University Board of Trustees and Emory School of Medicine Dean Dr. John William Eley.
The backstory:
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Umaymah Mohammad, an MD/PhD student at Emory who has been suspended from the Emory School of Medicine until the end of the 2027-2028 school year and under probation until her possible graduation date in 2029.
According to the complaint, Mohammad was accused by university officials of violating Emory School of Medicine Code of Conduct after going on the radio show "Democracy Now!" During her interview, Mohammad discussed the firing of assistant professor Dr. Abeer AbouYabis after she made comments that appeared to praise members of Hamas as "resistance fighters."
In the interview, Mohammad mentioned another professor at the university who had recently served as a medic in the Israeli Defense Force.
"This man participated in aiding and abetting a genocide, in aiding and abetting the destruction of the healthcare system in Gaza and the murder of over 400 healthcare workers and is now back at Emory so-called teaching medical students and residents how to take care of patients," she said.
SEE MORE: Emory University under federal investigation over alleged anti-Muslim discrimination
In response, the professor filed a complaint, saying that her language put him and his family at risk.
The complaint claims that Mohammad attempted to argue that an investigation into her statements was flawed, but it was approved anyway. Months later, the university allegedly charged her with a different set of violations, telling her that she needed to accept guilt on the charges or proceed to a hearing in front of a committee appointed by the dean. The charges were then reportedly changed again after she agreed to the hearing, the lawsuit says.
After the hearing on Nov. 12, 2024, the committee found that Mohammad violated "the standards and expectations of the medical profession" as well as the expectation of Professional Communication and Demeanor and the expectation of Respect for the Rights of Others and decided to suspend her for a year effective at the end of her PhD program.
What they're saying:
In their lawsuit, attorneys argue that the university illegally discriminated against Mohammad under Title VI and "ignored their own free speech policy."
"Emory’s continued punishment of students who speak out against the genocide in Gaza is an act of complicity. Disguising this repression as a matter of ‘professionalism’ or ‘conduct’ is a moral failure—one that stains not only Emory, but the entire U.S. healthcare and education system" Mohammad said. "It is the duty of healthcare workers and students to speak out against mass atrocities. Emory has chosen silence, disciplinary action, and erasure over justice, effectively standing on the wrong side of history."
"Much like what led to our filing of a Title VI complaint with the Department of Education in 2023, Emory University has once again tried to quell pro-Palestinian advocacy," CAIR-Georgia Staff Attorney Keon Grant said. "This lawsuit on behalf of Ms. Mohammad challenges not only the latest incident in their well-documented history of discriminatory treatment toward Palestinian students and their advocacy, but an intensification of this behavior - not only ignoring outside pleas for justice but also disregarding their own internal policies in pursuit of silencing pro-Palestinian advocacy, as well as criticism of Emory University's own shortcomings and institutional biases."
Mohammad and her attorneys are asking for a jury trial, compensatory and punitive damages, and for Emory to rescind the suspension and expungeall records related to the disciplinary investigation.
The other side:
A spokesperson for Emory University did not comment on the lawsuit, telling FOX 5 that the university "declines to discuss pending litigation."
The Source: Information for this article came from a lawsuit filed by CAIR-Georgia and Jonathan Wallace.