Arraignment Delayed Again for Pro-Palestine Harvard Graduate Students

BOSTON — Harvard graduate students Elom Tettey-Tamaklo and Ibrahim I. Bharmal arrived at Brighton District Court at 9 a.m. on Wednesday prepared to enter pleas to charges of assault and battery over their involvement in an altercation at a pro-Palestine protest last fall.

Instead, their arraignment was postponed for the second time, as prosecutors said they were still awaiting more information from the Harvard University Police Department.

The postponement to Oct. 22 further draws out a case that has drawn the attention of national media outlets and federal lawmakers, who have used it as an example of systemic antisemitism at Harvard since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

Last year, Bharmal and Tettey-Tamolko — then a proctor in Thayer Hall, one of Harvard’s freshman dorms — came under fire after they were caught on video approaching an Israeli student who was filming pro-Palestine protesters during an October demonstration at the Harvard Business School.

In the video, which went viral, they can be seen escorting the student out and blocking his camera with their safety vests and keffiyehs, occasionally coming into physical contact with him. In May, the two graduate students were charged with assault and battery, and are both facing up to 200 days in jail.

The video ignited fierce backlash against Harvard from politicians and alumni, with Rep. Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (R-N.Y.) accusing the University of delaying “justice” for the Israeli student involved in the confrontation.

Amid the backlash, Harvard indefinitely removed Tettey-Tamaklo from his proctor role in November.

While the arraignment was originally scheduled for July, it was pushed back to September before being further postponed on Wednesday. The repeated delays are an unusual deviation to normal court proceedings: in most cases, arraignments take place within 48 hours of charges being filed.

The graduate students arrived with their lawyers on Monday to begin the criminal trial process. However, Urusula Knight – a prosecutor from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office requested a delay in the arraignment, saying that “there’s still investigation that needs to be done.”

“Although this case went to a Massachusetts court and is an issue against these individuals, there were additional individuals who were there that day,” Knight said. She added that prosecutors expect HUPD to continue to investigate these additional individuals in order to corroborate the details of the incident.

Judge Margaret F. Albertson granted the state’s request for a delay of arraignment.

HUPD turned over its investigative materials on March 8, and has since provided additional information — including additional video footage of the incident. HUPD spokesperson Steven Catalano declined to comment on Knight’s statement.

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in an email to The Crimson that Harvard has “cooperated fully throughout the District Attorney’s office investigation.”

“It remains unclear what further role they are asking HUPD to play,” he added.

A handful of Harvard alumni joined in support of the graduate students at the court on Wednesday morning, including some student organizers affiliated with Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine.

Tettey-Tamaklo and Bharmal both declined to comment on their case.

—Staff writer Sally E. Edwards can be reached at sally.edwards@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sallyedwards04 or on Threads @sally_edwards06.

—Staff writer Asher J. Montgomery can be reached at asher.montgomery@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @asherjmont or on Threads @asher_montgomery.