Federal Judge Orders Release of Tufts University Student Accused of Aiding Hamas on Bail

A federal judge in Vermont on Friday ordered the Trump administration to release Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk on bail after she was accused of aiding the terrorist group Hamas.

Oturk’s arrest occurred in late March when immigration agents approached her on the street while she was walking with friends outside her home in Somerville, MA. The agents placed her in handcuffs and drove her to Vermont. Afterward, she was transported to a Louisiana prison.

From The New York Times: 

In seeking her release, her lawyers have accused the government of detaining her in unconstitutional retaliation for protected speech. The main evidence against her appears to be an essay critical of Israel that she helped to write in a Tufts student newspaper last year.

Video footage of Ms. Ozturk’s detention went viral, leading to public outrage of her treatment by critics who say the government is abusing the immigration system to deport international students.

Ms. Ozturk has spent six weeks in detention in Louisiana and has endured unsanitary conditions that have triggered increasingly severe asthma attacks, her lawyers said in court documents.

US District Judge William Sessions ruled that Ozturk has “very substantial claims of First Amendment and due process violations” and that “her continued detention cannot stand.” He further argued that “bail is necessary to make the habeas remedy effective.” 

Ozturk attended the hearing remotely as she is still waiting to be transferred back to Vermont after Sessions’ previous ruling that she should not be incarcerated in Louisiana, a decision the Justice Department appealed.

The authorities alleged that Ozturk engaged “in activities in support of Hamas.” However, the only evidence the state has provided so far is that she co-authored an op-ed aimed at persuading Tufts University to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and cut ties with companies connected to Israel.

The State Department issued a memo explaining that it had revoked Ozturk’s visa because her actions “may undermine U.S. foreign policy by creating a hostile environment for Jewish studens and indicating support for a designated terrorist organization.”

However, the memo did not explain how her actions affected foreign policy or threatened Jewish students.

A federal judge in Vermont on Friday ordered the Trump administration to release Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk on bail after she was accused of aiding the terrorist group Hamas.

Oturk’s arrest occurred in late March when immigration agents approached her on the street while she was walking with friends outside her home in Somerville, MA. The agents placed her in handcuffs and drove her to Vermont. Afterward, she was transported to a Louisiana prison.

From The New York Times: 

In seeking her release, her lawyers have accused the government of detaining her in unconstitutional retaliation for protected speech. The main evidence against her appears to be an essay critical of Israel that she helped to write in a Tufts student newspaper last year.

Video footage of Ms. Ozturk’s detention went viral, leading to public outrage of her treatment by critics who say the government is abusing the immigration system to deport international students.

Ms. Ozturk has spent six weeks in detention in Louisiana and has endured unsanitary conditions that have triggered increasingly severe asthma attacks, her lawyers said in court documents.

US District Judge William Sessions ruled that Ozturk has “very substantial claims of First Amendment and due process violations” and that “her continued detention cannot stand.” He further argued that “bail is necessary to make the habeas remedy effective.” 

Ozturk attended the hearing remotely as she is still waiting to be transferred back to Vermont after Sessions’ previous ruling that she should not be incarcerated in Louisiana, a decision the Justice Department appealed.

The authorities alleged that Ozturk engaged “in activities in support of Hamas.” However, the only evidence the state has provided so far is that she co-authored an op-ed aimed at persuading Tufts University to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and cut ties with companies connected to Israel.

The State Department issued a memo explaining that it had revoked Ozturk’s visa because her actions “may undermine U.S. foreign policy by creating a hostile environment for Jewish studens and indicating support for a designated terrorist organization.”

However, the memo did not explain how her actions affected foreign policy or threatened Jewish students.