Judge Dismisses Hate Crime Charges Against Harvard Graduate Students

A Boston Municipal Court judge dismissed hate crime charges on Monday in an assault case involving two Harvard graduate students at a pro-Palestine protest, according to online court records.

Graduate students Elom Tettey-Tamaklo and Ibrahim I. Bharmal were charged in May for their involvement in an Oct. 2023 protest at the Harvard Business School. The two pleaded not guilty to the assault and civil rights charges at a November arraignment, after a series of postponed court dates.

Judge Stephen McClenon dismissed a misdemeanor civil rights violation for each man on Monday, though they will still face one misdemeanor count of assault and battery each.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Suffolk District Attorney’s office wrote that the civil rights charges “were based on the defendants’ actions impeding the victim’s ability to freely move around campus,” and that the District Attorney is “reviewing the judge’s ruling.”

A video of the Oct. 2023 confrontation shows Tettey-Tamaklo and Bharmal approaching HBS student Yoav Segev, who was attempting to film the faces of protesters. Bharmal and Tettey-Tamaklo then blocked his camera by holding up keffiyehs and fluorescent security vests while escorting him out of the protest.

The case has been delayed by nearly nine months, after the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office requested additional information from the Harvard University Police Department. At a Jan. 17 appearance, lawyers for the two men requested the judge dismiss the case for lack of probable cause after filing a motion in December.

Monica R. Shah, the attorney for both Tettey-Tamaklo and Bharmal, did not respond to a request for comment on the judge’s dismissal.

In a May police report from the Harvard University Police Department – more than six months after the protest – Segev told officers that he was hit by “many individuals.” He specifically identified Tettey-Tamaklo, Bharmal, and a third unidentified individual as the “most prolific and aggressive.”

In a November motion to dismiss both the assault and civil charges, Shah argued that Tettey-Tamaklo and Bharmal were targeted by HUPD on account of their race. She further argued that the case against Tettey-Tamaklo, who is black, and Bharmal, who is of South Asian descent, was tainted by racial bias.

Though the motion was denied at the time, the defendants were given a Dec. 23 deadline to file the motion to dismiss due to lack of probable cause.

A Harvard spokesperson declined to comment on the case. HUPD spokesperson Steven G. Catalano did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A status hearing, where attorneys will meet with a judge to discuss the status of the case and a possible settlement, is scheduled for Feb. 27 at the Brighton division of the Boston Municipal Court.

—Staff writer Matan H. Josephy can be reached matan.josephy@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @matanjosephy.

—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart or on Threads @laurel.shugart.