After American political commentators Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker confirmed on Monday that the UK government had blocked their entry into the country, social media was flooded with reactions debating restrictions on free speech in Britain and accusing the government of clamping down on the right to express criticism of the Israeli government.
The pair were due to attend the SXSW festival in London and had been scheduled to speak at the Oxford Union, a prestigious debating society, where Piker had previously delivered a speech criticising America’s support for Israel and arguing that the media played a key role in manufacturing consent for Israeli violations of international law.
Middle East Eye reported that Piker was also due to meet the leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, and Jeremy Corbyn during his visit, which Piker confirmed in a YouTube video explaining that his Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) application had been denied.
Uygur, creator of The Young Turks, took to X to confirm that he had been denied entry into Britain, suggesting that his criticism of Israel was the motivation behind the decision.
“I’ve been banned for criticizing Israel,” he said, adding: “Are we free anymore?”
