Turkish PhD Student Rumeysa Ozturk Arrested in the US
The US immigration authorities detained a Turkish doctoral student, Rumeysa Ozturk, on Tuesday, Mar. 25, in Somerville when she was on her way to meet friends and have iftar with them.
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Ozturk is a PhD student at Tufts University in Boston who voiced support for Palestinians during the ongoing Israel war in Gaza.
Her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, has filed a petition in Boston federal court.
US President Donald Trump's administration has detained several foreign-born students who are legally staying in the US and have been involved in pro-Palestinian protests.
Ozturk's arrest follows the arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin justified the arrest in a post on X, saying Ozturk was found to have “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organisation that relishes the killing of Americans”.
The arrest of the Turkish PhD patient came after she co-authored an opinion piece in her university's paper, the Tuft Daily, which criticised the university's response to students' divestment protests.