Journalist Mariam Elsayeh faces escalating offline and digital threats

Read in Arabic / للقراءة بالعربية

Skyline International for Human Rights (SIHR) has documented an alarming and sustained campaign of physical harassment, intimidation, and digital violence targeting journalist Mariam Elsayeh. This multi-faceted attack, which escalates from physical assaults at pro-Palestine protests to a vicious online defamation campaign, represents a grave threat to her safety and a direct assault on press freedom in the United Kingdom. 

Elsayeh, a freelance journalist for outlets including Al Jazeera Arabic, ITN and an elected member of the UK’s Ethics Council of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), has been subjected to a two-year campaign of intimidation for her professional work covering pro-Palestine protests and her public advocacy for Palestinian journalists in London. The violence she faces on the ground is directly amplified and weaponized in the digital space, creating an unbearable environment of perpetual threat.

A Pattern of physical intimidation and stalking
According to Elsayeh’s account, her physical presence at demonstrations in London has been met with repeated threats. She reports being punched in the face and kicked while covering a protest outside the Israeli embassy in October 2023. She also states that following this incident, her primary alleged stalker, a Reform UK politician and parliamentary candidate, photographed her press badge in an act of intimidation.

Elsayeh describes a persistent pattern where the Reform UK politician has allegedly appeared at numerous events she has attended over two years. Her testimony includes his alleged presence at a family Eid celebration she attended with her family, which she found deeply threatening. The situation reportedly escalated on 6 September 2025 when, according to her account, the Reform UK politician made a direct verbal threat, telling her, "You're done."

Further physical intimidation was reported by Elsayeh on 27 August 2025, when she states a supporter of the far-right figure Tommy Robinson attempted to pull off her hijab during an NUJ vigil while accusing her of supporting Hamas.

The NUJ has maintained a log of all the incidents involving the politician, who was a parliamentary candidate in the 2024 general election, and the stalking allegations have been reported to the police. 

Online defamation campaigns and incitement to violence
Following her public advocacy, the physical intimidation she reports has been systematically amplified through coordinated online channels. After she spoke at two recent NUJ vigils against the murder of Palestinian journalists, she was subjected to widespread abuse on social media, including being called a "terrorist supporter." 

On 2 September 2025, the pro-Israel media watchdog Honest Reporting published an article containing defamatory allegations against Elsayeh, falsely characterising her as a "rabid anti-Israel social media personality" and an "apologist for terrorism." This article was circulated widely, triggering a further wave of coordinated online hate speech and incitement to violence across social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), Threads, and Facebook. Replies on these social networks included direct threats such as "Don't worry, we will deal with her in due course" and calls to "deport her and air drop her into one of the 57 barbaric Islamic countries."

Notably, despite the clear threats to her safety, none of the implicated tech platforms, including Meta's Facebook and Threads or X, have taken measurable action to remove this content, allowing the incitement to remain public and further endanger her life.

This online incitement manifested offline when, according to Elsayeh, far-right protesters who knew her name from the digital campaign shouted that she should "be beheaded" at a protest on 6 September 2025.

The online attacks she has faced further include widespread xenophobic and Islamophobic incitement, with calls for her deportation and defamatory accusations labeling her an "odious rat" and "Islamist."

Institutional response and ongoing risk
Despite extensive documentation by the NUJ and reports to UK police, the initial response was critically insufficient to ensure Mariam Elsayeh's safety. The threat level was deemed so severe that police advised her and her family to leave their home—a measure she could not take due to personal circumstances. This failure left her exposed to a relentless campaign, the true cost of which is measured in the trauma inflicted on her family.

Elsayeh told Skyline International for Human Rights, “What truly breaks me is seeing my children pulled into these threats without mercy — growing up between police visits and social care checks. That is not a normal life, and it must never be normalised.” 

She describes this targeting as a manifestation of how far intolerance can reach, noting, "It’s nothing compared to Gaza, but it must still be condemned, because it shows how far fascism can reach—even to children in Europe—just for having a voice. It’s horrific." 

The situation has since escalated, and Elsayeh and her family are now under the protection of the Police Victim and Witness Protection Unit, in coordination with Social Services. Yet, she emphasizes that her case is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of suppression. “My story should never distract from the real story,” she asserts, “but it is also part of it: the silencing of voices that challenge the Israeli narrative. That is the real issue.”

In the face of this ordeal, she expressed profound gratitude for the support that has allowed her to continue, stating, “My family extends our deepest appreciation and respect to every institution and person who has stood by us with love and courage. Their support is what makes us able to keep going.”

Call for action
The serious allegations detailed by Mariam Elsayeh represent a critical test for press freedom and journalist safety in the UK. Skyline International highlights the urgent need for:

• A thorough and transparent investigation by UK authorities into the interlocking allegations of physical stalking and online incitement.
• Immediate action by social media platforms to investigate and remove content that constitutes incitement to violence and hate speech against her.
• The provision of adequate safety and protection measures for Ms. Elsayeh and her family by relevant UK authorities, ensuring their security amid the documented threats.

Skyline International for Human Rights expresses its full solidarity with journalist Mariam Elsayeh and will continue to monitor the situation and document developments in her case.