A Turkish nationwide and doctoral pupil at Tufts College has been detained by U.S. Division of Homeland Safety brokers with out clarification, her lawyer mentioned Wednesday.
Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, had simply left her residence in Somerville on Tuesday night time when she was stopped, lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai mentioned in a petition filed in Boston federal courtroom.
Video obtained by The Related Press seems to indicate six folks, their faces coated, taking away Ozturk’s cellphone as she yells and is handcuffed.
“We’re the police,” members of the group are heard saying within the video.
A person is heard asking, “Why are you hiding your faces?”
Khanbabai mentioned Ozturk, who’s Muslim, was assembly associates for iftar, a meal that breaks a quick at sundown throughout Ramadan.
“We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of,” Khanbabai mentioned in a press release. Ozturk has a visa permitting her to review in the USA, Khanbabai mentioned.
‘This isn’t public security, it is intimidation’
Neighbors mentioned they had been rattled by the arrest, which occurred at 5:30 p.m. on a residential block.
“It looked like a kidnapping,” mentioned Michael Mathis, a 32-year-old software program engineer whose surveillance digicam captured the arrest. “They approach her and start grabbing her with their faces covered. They’re covering their faces. They’re in unmarked vehicles.”
Tufts College President Sunil Kumar mentioned in a press release that the college realized that authorities detained a global graduate pupil and the coed’s visa had been terminated.
“The university had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event,” Kumar mentioned.
Kumar didn’t title the coed, however college spokesperson Patrick Collins confirmed that Ozturk is a doctoral pupil within the Graduate College of Arts and Sciences.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley known as the arrest “a horrifying violation of Rumeysa’s constitutional rights to due process and free speech.”
“She should be instantly launched,” Pressley mentioned in a press release. “We won’t stand by while the Trump Administration continues to abduct students with legal status and attack our fundamental freedoms.”
Massachusetts Lawyer Common Andrea Pleasure Campbell known as the video “disturbing.”
“Based on what we now know, it is alarming that the federal administration chose to ambush and detain her, apparently targeting a law-abiding individual because of her political views,” she mentioned. “This isn’t public safety, it’s intimidation that will, and should, be closely scrutinized in court.”
Court docket says to not take away Ozturk from the state, however she is listed as being held in Louisiana
U.S. District Decide Indira Talwani issued an order giving the federal government till Friday to reply why Ozturk was being detained. Talwani additionally ordered that Ozturk not be moved exterior the District of Massachusetts with out 48 hours advance discover.
However as of Wednesday night, the U.S. Immigration and Customized Enforcement’s on-line detainee locator system listed her as being held on the South Louisiana ICE Processing Middle in Basile, Louisiana.
A senior DHS spokesperson confirmed Ozturk’s detention and the termination of her visa.
“DHS and (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans. A visa is a privilege, not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is common sense security,” the spokesperson advised the AP.
Ozturk cowrote article criticizing college response to Palestinian points
Ozturk was one in all 4 college students final March who wrote an op-ed in The Tufts Day by day criticizing the college’s response to its neighborhood union Senate passing resolutions that demanded Tufts “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide,” disclose its investments and divest from firms with direct or oblique ties to Israel.
Pals mentioned Ozturk was not in any other case carefully concerned in protests in opposition to Israel. However after the piece was printed, her title, picture and work historical past had been featured by Canary Mission, a web site that claims it paperwork individuals who “promote hatred of the U.S.A., Israel and Jews on North American college campuses.” The op-ed was the one cited instance of “anti-Israel activism” by Ozturk.
College students and school elsewhere even have just lately had visas revoked or been blocked from coming into the U.S. as a result of they attended demonstrations or publicly expressed help for Palestinians. President Donald Trump ‘s administration has cited a seldom-invoked statute authorizing the secretary of state to revoke visas of noncitizens who could possibly be thought-about a menace to international coverage pursuits.
Supporters rally in Somerville
A whole bunch of individuals demonstrated in a park later Wednesday, with speaker after speaker demanding her launch and accusing each main political events of failing to guard immigrants and get up for Palestinians.
“Free Rumeysa Ozturk now,” the group chanted, together with conventional protest slogans akin to “Free, free Palestine.” Many held Palestinian flags and do-it-yourself indicators supporting her and opposing ICE.
Zoi Andalcio, a Somerville enterprise proprietor, mentioned he got here out together with his spouse and 3-year-old son to talk in opposition to the “maddening” arrest of Ozturk and others.
“I’m outraged like everybody else about these disappearances, kidnappings of legal noncitizens, who may or may not have spoken out against the atrocious foreign policy of the United States government,” Andalcio mentioned.
Roz Nazzaro, who held an indication that learn “Hands Off,” mentioned she fears the nation is heading into an period of “Nazism” through which jpeople ust disappear.
“There is no distinction between undocumented immigrants, documented immigrants, green cards,” mentioned Nazzaro, a retired faculty administrator from Winchester, Massachusetts. “It’s going to be the citizens next, if you’re the wrong color, wear a hijab.”
‘She’s by no means spoken badly to anybody’
Earlier than attending Tufts, Ozturk obtained a grasp’s from the Developmental Psychology program at Academics School at Columbia College in New York, based on an alumni highlight article in 2021.
Reyyan Bilge, a psychology professor at Northeastern College and pal, described Ozturk as a “soft spoken, kind and gentle soul,” deeply targeted on analysis and never carefully concerned within the campus protests.
The 2 first met at Istanbul Sehir College, the place Bilge supervised her thesis, earlier than engaged on cognitive analysis and publishing papers collectively. They remained shut after Ozturk arrived in the USA on a Fulbright Scholarship in 2018.
“Over the 10 years I’ve known her, she’s never spoken badly to anyone else, let alone being antisemitic or racist,” Bilge mentioned.
Turkish diplomats contact State Division and ICE
The Turkish Embassy in Washington mentioned it was retaining in common contact with Ozturk’s household, monitoring the state of affairs carefully and engaged in “initiatives” with the State Division and ICE.
It added in a press release on the social platform X that it was making “every effort” to offer consular providers and authorized help to guard its residents’ rights.
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
