WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – A Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University in the United States has returned to Boston after spending more than six weeks in an immigration detention center in Louisiana in what her lawyers call a politically motivated crackdown on free speech.
Upon arrival at Boston Logan International Airport, Rumeysa Ozturk told reporters on Saturday that she was excited to get back to her studies during what has been a “very difficult” period.
“In the last 45 days, I lost both my freedom and also my education during a crucial time for my doctoral studies,” she said. “But I am so grateful for all the support, kindness and care.”
A federal judge on Friday ordered her release pending a final decision on her claim that she was illegally detained.
Ozturk, 30, was detained on March 25 when immigration officials arrested her in Massachusetts, revoked her student visa and transferred her to the detention facility in Louisiana.
Supporters believe Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar from Turkey, was targeted for having co-written an opinion article in her student newspaper, calling on Tufts University to acknowledge the Zionist regime’s war on Gaza as a genocide.
A genocide case against the occupying regime is under way at the International Court of Justice. Last week, the former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell accused the regime of committing genocide.
Ozturk was joined by her lawyers and two of Massachusetts’s Democratic members of Congress, Senator Edward Markey and Representative Ayanna Pressley.
“Today is a tremendous day as we welcome you back, Rumeysa,” Markey said. “You have made millions and millions of people across our country so proud of the way you have fought.”
Ozturk’s lawyers say her visa was revoked without notice and she was not allowed to contact legal counsel for more than a day after her arrest.
Appearing in court via video, Ozturk spoke of her deteriorating health, including severe asthma attacks in detention, and her hopes of continuing her doctoral research on children and social media.
U.S. District Judge William Sessions granted Ozturk bail, saying she presented no flight risk or danger to the public. He found that her claim of unlawful detention raised serious constitutional questions, including potential violations of her rights to free speech and due process.