On May 18, the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SD) plans to join University of California San Diego (UCSD) students and faculty condemn the university’s punishment of Professor BT Werner for standing with students who peacefully protested the ongoing Nakba and genocide in Gaza in May 2024.
WHAT: Press Conference Condemning UCSD’s Punishment of Professor BT Werner
WHEN: Monday, May 18, 2026 at 4:30 PM
WHERE: UCSD Library Walk, at the Silent/Dead Tree, La Jolla, CA
On May 19, on the 78th anniversary of the Nakba that marked the beginning of the displacement and dispossession of the Palestinian people, UCSD will put Professor BT Werner on trial for standing with students who peacefully protested the ongoing Nakba and genocide in Gaza in May 2024. Although the San Diego City Attorney declined to press charges, and the statute of limitations has passed, UCSD senior administration will continue to waste university resources on at least 4 days of trial centered on Dr. Werner, which only serves to exacerbate UCSD’s longstanding hostility toward anti-war, anti-colonial, anti-genocide protesters.
Professor BT’s trial is the culmination of a tortured, disorganized, and drawn-out process that will be carried out behind closed doors by preselected UCSD faculty. UCSD administration has scheduled the first two days in May for the trial, with no end date determined. Regardless of what the faculty recommend at the trial, Chancellor Khosla will have the final say. The corrupt disciplinary process may be little more than theater, with its predetermined and biased conclusion working to silence anyone who continues to speak about the ongoing Nakba and genocide in Gaza.
In response to UCSD Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth Simmons recommendation of two years without pay or healthcare for Professor Werner, California Scholars for Academic Freedom, an organization of over 200 scholars in higher education in California dedicated to the defense of academic freedom, stated in a letter to Chancellor Khosla, “The disciplinary charges these faculty face…without the benefit of a public hearing of their case or due process, bodes badly for transparency and democracy for the treatment of both these faculty at your higher education institution.”
“We demand that UCSD immediately reinstate Professor BT and issue an apology for the prolonged mistreatment of Professor BT and other educators being penalized because of their expression of free speech and exercise of first amendment rights against the genocide in Gaza and the ongoing NAKABA of the Palestinian People” – Tazheen Nizam, Executive Director, CAIR-CA, San Diego.
CAIR-CA is a chapter of CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-SD Executive Director Tazheen Nizam, (760) 201-7626