WASHINGTON, Mar 27 (APP): The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy organization, Wednesday condemned the abduction by U.S. immigration authorities of a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University near Boston who had voiced support for Palestinians in Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Washington-based organization called for the “immediate and safe” release of Rumeysa Ozturk, who is under detention.
Ms. Ozturk was heading out to an iftar with friends Tuesday night when she was detained by agents from the Department of Homeland Security near her apartment.
Video provided by neighbours appears to show Ms. Ozturk, who was in hijab, being seized by federal agents, handcuffed, and driven away to an unknown location.
Ms. Ozturk, a PhD student and doctoral research assistant at Tufts University, completed a master’s degree at Columbia University as a Fulbright Scholar.
According to media reports, her valid US visa was revoked without assigning any reason, but she was one of several authors of a 2024 opinion essay published in the Tufts student newspaper criticizing university leaders for their response to the Gaza genocide and urging divestment from companies with ties to Israel.
“We unequivocally condemn the abduction of a young Muslim hijab-wearing scholar by masked federal agents in broad daylight,” Executive Director of CAIR’s Massachusetts chapter, Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, said in a statement.
“This alarming act of repression is a direct assault on free speech and academic freedom,” she said.
“Massachusetts residents must recognize the dangerous precedent being set, the federal government is resorting to draconian tactics to silence those who speak out against our nation’s complicity in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people,” Ms. Amatul-Wadud added.
“We demand Rumeysa Ozturk’s immediate and safe release and full transparency regarding her detention.”
On Tuesday, the California chapter of CAIR, along with the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC), and more than 120 organizations representing community organizers, labour unions, social and legal service providers, faith leaders, and immigration and civil rights organizations, announced a joint letter to more than 50 California legislators urging them to take action regarding the unjust arrests of Columbia anti-genocide activists Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian, and Yunseo Chung, a South Korean, both permanent resident of the United States.