The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is drawing criticism for hosting a 25th-anniversary event commemorating 9/11 that includes the defense attorney for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the principal architect of the attacks, and academics who have critiqued counterterrorism efforts.
The event, titled "25 Years After 9/11: Reimagining Freedom, Justice, and Security," is scheduled to take place over two days, concluding on the anniversary of the attacks that killed more than 3,000 people.
Among the scheduled speakers is Melanie T. Partow, a civil rights and international human rights litigator who has represented Mohammed since at least February 2020 and is part of the Military Commissions Defense Organization Civilian Attorney Pool for detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Partow is slated to speak on a panel discussing "Torture, Rendition, and Detention: The Erosion of the Rights Regime post 9/11."
Another featured speaker is Aslı Ü. Bâli, a professor at Yale Law School, who wrote in a 2020 essay that counterterrorism efforts have served as a "racist gravy train," providing government agencies with increased funding by characterizing minority communities and dissidents as threats.
The event also includes speakers such as Hussam Ayloush, director of the California Council on American-Islamic Relations, who has made controversial statements comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, and Amna Akbar, a University of Minnesota Law School professor who described a murder as a "spectacular act of protest."
The symposium's agenda indicates discussions on "the ongoing genocide in Gaza" and "White Christian nationalism."
Critics, including 9/11 survivors and victims' families, have expressed outrage. Jim McCaffrey, an FDNY lieutenant who responded to the Twin Towers attacks, called the event "absolutely absurd" and questioned the direction of academia. Sally Regenhard, whose firefighter son died at Ground Zero, stated that "crazy people say crazy things" and voiced frustration that perpetrators have not been brought to justice.
Notably, the event features a brief 15-minute block for a "remembrance" of the victims, which is shorter than the scheduled lunch break. No victims of the terror attacks are listed among the speakers.
UCLA Law has defended the event, citing a "longstanding commitment to academic freedom and to fostering a wide range of scholarly inquiry." A university spokesperson stated that events organized by individual programs do not imply endorsement by UCLA Law and that the school does not withdraw invitations based on the sensitivity or controversial nature of a viewpoint. Attendees can earn continuing legal education credits for participating.
This event follows previous controversies at UCLA, including a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration alleging antisemitic acts on campus and a Department of Justice lawsuit claiming the university allowed "Jewish exclusion zones" and assaults on Jewish students following the Oct. 7 attacks. The UCLA student government also faced criticism for condemning an appearance by an Israeli former hostage.