Detained Tufts student’s lawyer demands government produce her
A lawyer for a detained Ph.D. student at Tufts University has filed an emergency motion requesting the government produce her.
Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, is a Turkish national who was detained Tuesday by agents from the Department of Homeland Security.
Video circulating online shows six masked people taking away Ozturk’s phone as she yells and is handcuffed.
The federal judge presiding over her case ordered lawyers representing the government to respond to Ozturk’s counsel’s motion Thursday morning, The Associated Press reported.
District Judge Indira Talwani initially issued an order giving the government until Friday to explain why the student was detained.
Ozturk was arrested outside an apartment building in Somerville, Mass. The university said it had no knowledge the detention would happen, noting it took place off campus.
Talwani ordered the government not to remove the student outside the District of Massachusetts without a 48-hour notice, but Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) said Ozturk was being held in a Basile, La., detention center, the AP reported.
A senior Department of Homeland Security official confirmed the termination of Ozturk’s student visa.
At first, it was unclear if Ozturk had participated in pro-Palestine protests, which has been a marker for other students who have been detained by the Trump administration.
DHS then confirmed to the AP that investigations found Ozturk had “engaged in activities in support of Hamas.”
“A visa is a privilege, not a right,” the DHS spokesperson said. “Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is common sense security.”
Ozturk’s attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai, said no charges have been filed against the Tufts student.
Her detainment follows that of Mahmoud Khalil, a lead negotiator for the pro-Palestinian encampments on Columbia University.