A Tufts University doctoral student from Turkey, Rumeysa Ozturk, has been denied bond by an immigration judge after being held for three weeks at a detention center in Louisiana.
Her lawyers believe she’s being punished for expressing pro-Palestinian views in a student newspaper.
Ozturk, 30, was studying child development at Tufts when she was suddenly detained on March 25 by Department of Homeland Security agents in Somerville, Massachusetts. She was moved between multiple states before being flown to an ICE detention center in Basile, Louisiana.
Her lawyers say she has suffered five asthma attacks while in custody and filed an emergency request for her to be brought to Vermont, where her case is now being heard. They argue this would allow for better legal access and a medical evaluation.
The Department of Homeland Security presented only one document to justify her detention: a short State Department memo that revoked her student visa.
The memo claims Ozturk’s actions “may undermine U.S. foreign policy” and accuses her of associating with a group that supports a designated terrorist organization. The group in question was temporarily banned from campus after student protests.
READ ALSO: U.S. College Students Held in Denmark After Uber Dispute
Ozturk was one of four students who wrote an op-ed in The Tufts Daily criticizing the university’s stance on Palestine and calling for divestment from companies linked to Israel.
Her lawyers insist she was exercising her free speech rights and say the government has no evidence linking her to any terrorist activity.
Immigration officials have alleged, without providing details, that Ozturk supported Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. Her legal team strongly denies this and is challenging the constitutionality of her detention.
They say the government’s case relies solely on her op-ed and lacks proof of any criminal or dangerous behavior.
A federal judge in Vermont has not yet ruled on whether she should be released.
