Gaza student files criminal complaint against Maastricht academic

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC), which is supporting Issa, said he had lodged the complaint with Dutch prosecutors. It alleges defamation, slander and doxxing by Amanda Kluveld, an associate professor at Maastricht University.

Issa posted a video in September showing him watching a documentary about Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. The ELSC says Kluveld falsely claimed he said “this is me” in the video. His lawyers say she thereby suggested he had taken part in the attack, Dutch news agency ANP reported. The ELSC says Issa spoke an Arabic phrase instead.

The university suspended Issa after the video was posted. On 2 October, Dutch prosecutors said they would not pursue further criminal investigation over the video. They said police had found no evidence that he was involved in the attack and concluded that the video disclosed no criminal offences.

In a separate complaint later in October, the university reported Issa to police after Kluveld said she felt seriously threatened by statements he had made, according to local newspaper De Nieuwe Ster Maastricht. The newspaper said it had seen that complaint.

The ELSC has also asked the university to investigate Kluveld’s conduct towards Issa.