Thomas McKenzie has been jailed for 22 months after attacking a pro-Palestine protester with a blade in April.
He has also been sentenced to complete a year under a supervision order after he is released from custody.
The attack left then 24-year-old student protester Ben Law with a facial scar and prompted concerns over campus security.
McKenzie pleaded guilty in April, shortly after the assault.to charges of assault to severe injury and acting in a racially aggravated manner.
He was charged under the Hate Crime and Public Disorder (Scotland) Act 2021 and returned to the dock to receive his sentence on Tuesday.
Ben was attending a pro-Palestine protest outside of Edinburgh University’s main library when McKenzie entered the crowd and allegedly began chants of “fuck Palestine” while repeatedly calling members of the protest “terrorists”.
Since the sentencing, Ben told The Tab Edinburgh: “I am relieved that the legal process is over.
“But I hope one clear outcome of this is that the senior leadership take notice, take notice and realise that university policy resulted in a student being attacked with a bladed weapon.
“They must realise that the current configuration of security is not simply inadequate, but that it directly endangers student and staff from all backgrounds.
“Concrete changes must come from this.”
Shortly after the attack in April he told The Edinburgh Tab: “The university deals with pro-Palestine protests differently than any other protests” and “interacts with [the student protesters] completely differently” to other protest groups because of the financial pressure they are placing on the university with their demands for divestment.
He continued: “They’re making it a JPS (Justice for Palestine) issue, it just frankly isn’t [only] a JPS issue” arguing that the “maniac” didn’t come on campus solely to attack Palestinians, but to incite violence where he could.
“[The university] knows there are people out there who just want to cause harm, and they’ve been taught to be angry at certain groups, especially right now students, and especially right now student protesters, and in today’s climate, especially right now pro-Palestinian protesters”, he added.
The attack prompted calls for improved security on campus, with Ben saying in a statement on Instagram: “I saw the man shouting hatefully as he approached the crowd – security must have seen him too, given that multiple students repeatedly warned security about the escalating threat from the second he arrived.
“From that moment, at the very least, he should have been under constant watch. The fact he was not is indefensible.”
He claims that even when a “knife” was visible to the protesters, and security were made aware of the threat, “still nothing was done”.
“Let me be clear: If campus security cannot – or will not – intervene when someone who is armed attacks students or staff, then they serve no function. What are they protecting? And crucially, what will stop this from happening again—next time with even graver consequences?”
The Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) released a statement shortly after, saying: “On Friday 28 March 2025, one of our students was violently attacked outside the Main Library while participating in a protest.
“In the same incident, several other students were subject to verbal racial harassment. The Students’ Association unequivocally condemns this attack, and we hope that all students impacted by this incident – both physically and emotionally – recover as quickly as possible.
“Antisemitism, islamophobia, and racism have no place on or off our campuses, and we are appalled by this act of hatred and violence towards our student community.
“The incident occurred while students were exercising their legal right to protest, and this vile attempt to intimidate our students and infringe on their freedoms is unacceptable.
“We support our students’ right to make their voices heard on the issues that matter to them.”
Professor Colm Harmon, Vice Principal Students at the University of Edinburgh told The Tab Edinburgh in an updated statement: “Safety on campus is our utmost priority and we condemn any violence in our community in the strongest terms.
“We respect the right to peaceful protest and our security team routinely attend events including protests, irrespective of the focus, to ensure wellbeing.
“Security provide immediate support during and after any incident at any event, and work closely with the Police and other groups to ensure our approach to safety is as effective and appropriate as possible.”
Edinburgh Live reported that McKenzie has a history of offences including two armed robberies using knives and several counts of assault.
Police Scotland and EUSA have been approached for comment.
