Harvard Students Plead Not Guilty to Assault on Israeli

Boston courtroom is packed with allies on both sides — keffiyehs and kippot

Elom Tettey-Tamaklo is one of two Harvard students facing criminal misdemeanor charges for what prosecutors say was assault and battery and a violation of the civil rights of an Israeli student. Photo: Ira Stoll, The Editors

Ibrahim Bharmal, center, is one of two Harvard students facing criminal misdemeanor charges for what prosecutors say was assault and battery and a violation of the civil rights of an Israeli student on the Harvard Business School campus. Photo: Ira Stoll, The Editors

Two Harvard students, Elom Tettey-Tamaklo and Ibrahim Bharmal, entered not guilty pleas this morning in Boston Municipal Court on misdemeanor criminal charges of assault and battery and of interfering with the civil rights of another student during an anti-Israel protest on the Harvard Business School campus.

A prosecutor from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office told Judge Stephen McClenon that “there is an ongoing investigation” into the clash during the October 18, 2023 demonstration. “This is a continuing investigation,” she said, suggesting that law enforcement officials are continuing to seek information about the identity of other students involved in the event.