An international doctoral student at Tufts university was detained by federal authorities on Tuesday evening, and has reportedly been transported to a facility in Louisiana. Video shows Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, a child developmental psychology scholar pursuing her PhD, being approached by a man in a blue sweatshirt who accosts her on the sidewalk and begins to ask her questions. As she responds, other officers can be seen approaching from vehicles and from across the street, most of whom have their faces covered with masks and sunglasses. As they surround her, the officers take her phone and backpack before cuffing her hands behind her back.
No official statement has been made by authorities explaining the reasons for Ozturk’s detainment, although the Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin did publish a post on the matter: “DHS + ICE 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 commonsense security.” McLaughlin did not specify what Ozturk said or did that glorified terrorism. A year ago today, Ozturk co-authored an op-ed in the Tufts newspaper criticizing the school’s stance on Israel’s invasion of Gaza, but no such rhetoric appears in that piece. Ozturk’s lawyer says she was not given a reason for her arrest, and has not been able to contact her since.
CNN has reported that authorities have since moved her to Louisiana, like Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestine activist who was arrested by federal authorities a few weeks ago in similar fashion. Both Ozturk and Khalil are challenging their detainments in court. The federal government has shifted its reasoning for Khalil’s detainment since he was taken, initially claiming that the secretary of state had unilateral authority to detain him, before claiming that he withheld information on his green card application.
