On Tuesday, federal immigration agents arrested Rumeysa Ozturk. She is a doctoral student in philosophy at Tufts University and a 2022-23 Fulbright NEXUS scholar. The attack occurred as Ozturk was on her way to break her Ramadan fast with friends. It has set off a firestorm of criticism and concerns about possible violations of due process and academic freedom. According to witnesses, six plainclothes officers ran up on Ozturk, grabbed her phone and backpack without a word, and threw her in handcuffs. Then, she was loaded into an unmarked vehicle and later detained at the South Louisiana Ice processing center.
Ozturk’s ongoing detention has created serious legal issues. That is particularly the case given a separate — and extremely rare — federal court order released on the same day. The order compels the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to inform the court. They need to give her 48 hours notice before attempting to remove her from Massachusetts. This requirement appeared to have been lost in the shuffle as she was moved to Louisiana just a few days after her arrest.
“We unequivocally condemn the abduction of a young Muslim hijab-wearing scholar by masked federal agents in broad daylight. This alarming act of repression is a direct assault on free speech and academic freedom,” said the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair).
The lack of transparency regarding the events leading to Ozturk’s detention has sparked the outrage of eyewitnesses. Michael Mathis, a 32-year-old software engineer who witnessed it in the office that day, said it looked like a kidnapping.
“They approach her and start grabbing her, with their faces covered. They’re covering their faces. They’re in unmarked vehicles,” Mathis recounted.
Ozturk’s legal team, spearheaded by attorney Mahsa Khanbabai, has to their credit been tirelessly responsive to the developing scenario. Khanbabai subsequently filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in order to contest his detention. This requires that Ice bring Ozturk into court and defend her continued detention. Despite those successes, until recently, Khanbabai hadn’t been able to reach her client directly.
Besides the legal battle, the detention seems to be directly related to Ozturk’s latest activism. She also co-wrote an op-ed that appeared in her Tufts’ student newspaper. In it, she condemned the university’s complicity in supporting the state of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and against Palestinians. The Op-Ed featured a series of resolutions adopted by the university’s student senate calling for recognition of what they referred to as the “Palestinian genocide.”
According to a DHS spokesperson, federal investigations demonstrated that Ozturk had funded activities aligned with Hamas. This group has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
“DHS and Ice investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans,” the spokesperson stated.
Focus on Ozturk’s immigration status has shifted too, alleging that her visa was revoked.
“From what we have been told subsequently, the student’s visa has been terminated, and we seek to confirm whether that information is true,” said Sunil Kumar, Tufts University’s president.
This case has inspired a great deal of interest. Its impact on academic freedom and the rights of all people to participate in political discourse are far-reaching. Ozturk’s story was allegedly included in a database of pro-Palestinian activists, raising even more questions about the context behind her detention.