Suspended Gazan Maastricht University student sues lecturer who linked him to Hamas

A Gazan student who was suspended earlier this year by Maastricht University has filed a criminal complaint against one of its lecturers, De Telegraaf reports. Hussein Issa’s lawyers accuse the lecturer of doxing, defamation, and slander.

They say the lecturer “spread the claim worldwide” that Issa had expressed support for Hamas in a social media video posted in September. In the clip, Issa watches footage of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and appears to give a thumbs-up. The video was widely interpreted as showing him saying, "This is me.” The lecturer then suggested on X that Issa may have taken part in the massacre.

Issa’s lawyers maintain that he actually said "tesheshni," a Gazan expression meaning “take me on a trip.” The Dutch Public Prosecution Service later concluded that Issa had committed no criminal offense. Even after the finding, the lawyers said, the lecturer continued to assert that Issa supported the attack. “His reputation has been seriously damaged by the lecturer,” they said.

Other posts on Issa’s social media also drew attention. On Instagram he has described himself as a fighter from Gaza. He has used a red triangle with a skull emoji, a symbol employed by some Hamas supporters against Israelis.

He has also shared an execution video in which opponents of Hamas are shot. According to his own accounts, his brother was a “martyr” who fought for Hamas. A sister celebrated the October 7 attacks and wrote that she hoped Hamas would take one of the fleeing Jewish women for her husband, apparently as a sex slave, De Telegraaf wrote.

Issa reportedly also directed a message at the lecturer, who is said to be pro-Israel. The message read, "Fuck the Zionists wherever they are; fuck the killers of children.” Maastricht University filed its own complaint against Issa after the lecturer reported a threat.