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A protester at a Gaza march in Washington, DC, last month holds a photo of Tufts University PhD student R\u00fcmeysa \u00d6zt\u00fcrk.<\/span>Rabia Iclal Turan\/Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Tufts University PhD student<\/span> R\u00fcmeysa \u00d6zt\u00fcrk has been released<\/a> from an immigration detention center in rural Louisiana in response to an order from a federal judge. \u00d6zt\u00fcrk\u2019s arrest led to nationwide outrage after a chilling video showed plainclothes immigration agents in masks pulling her off the street in Massachusetts in March.<\/p>\n \u00d6zt\u00fcrk, a 30-year-old Turkish national, has been accused of no criminal activity. Instead, the Trump administration has falsely claimed that she \u201cengaged in activities in support of Hamas.\u201d In reality, \u00d6zt\u00fcrk co-wrote a op-ed<\/a> for the Tufts Daily<\/em> that pushed for divesting from companies with ties to Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you so much for all the support and love,\u201d \u00d6zt\u00fcrk said outside the Louisiana immigration detention center on Friday. \u201cI am a little tired so I will take some rest. But I really appreciate you being here.\u201d<\/p>\n R\u00fcmeysa \u00d6zt\u00fcrk, the Tufts PhD candidate whose sudden arrest by federal immigration agents made national headlines, walked out of a Louisiana detention facility after a judge ordered her release.<\/p>\n Watch the moment she spoke to supporters outside. https:\/\/t.co\/rsttOeBNTz<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/KGd4zO1Q68<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) May 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n At a federal court hearing earlier on Friday, William Sessions III, a district court judge in Vermont, where \u00d6zt\u00fcrk was briefly detained, made clear that the Trump administration had provided essentially nothing to support its decision to detain and attempt to deport \u00d6zt\u00fcrk. \u201cThere has been no evidence that has been introduced by the government other than the op-ed. I mean, that literally is the case,\u201d Sessions said<\/a>. \u201cThere is no evidence here as to the motivation, absent the consideration of the op-ed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere is absolutely no evidence that she has engaged in violence or advocated violence,\u201d Sessions said, according to CBS News<\/a>. \u201cShe has no criminal record. She has done nothing other than essentially attend her university and expand her contacts within the community in such a supportive way.\u201d The judge called<\/a> \u00d6zt\u00fcrk\u2019s detention a \u201ccontinued infringement\u201d on her due process and First Amendment rights that also \u201cpotentially chil[ed] the speech of the millions and millions of people in this country who are not citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Drescher, the Justice Department attorney representing the Trump administration, barely spoke and called no witnesses at the hearing, the New York Times<\/em> reported<\/a>. He did say that the administration would continue its effort to deport \u00d6zt\u00fcrk regardless of whether she was released from detention.<\/p>\n The judge called<\/a> \u00d6zt\u00fcrk\u2019s detention a \u201ccontinued infringement\u201d on her due process and First Amendment rights that also \u201cpotentially chil[ed] the speech of the millions and millions of people in this country who are not citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Mahsa Khanbabai, \u00d6zt\u00fcrk\u2019s lawyer, said<\/a> in a statement provided to Zeteo <\/em>that she was \u201crelieved and ecstatic\u201d her client had been ordered released. \u201cUnfortunately, it is 45 days too late. She has been imprisoned all these days for simply writing an op-ed that called for human rights and dignity for the people in Palestine,\u201d Khanbabai added. \u201cWhen did speaking up against oppression become a crime? When did speaking up against genocide become something to be imprisoned for?\u201d<\/p>\n In early April, Mother Jones<\/em> reported<\/a> that \u00d6zt\u00fcrk had suffered three asthma attacks during her first 10 days in detention. As Sophie Hurwitz and Julia M\u00e9traux explained at the time:<\/p>\n \u00d6zt\u00fcrk, who studies child psychology, was moved by ICE agents from Massachusetts to Vermont and then to Louisiana, her attorneys report. For nearly 24 hours, her legal team was unable to contact or locate her. En route to Louisiana, she suffered her first of three asthma attacks. Hearings in \u00d6zt\u00fcrk\u2019s case began yesterday, with her lawyers describing the way she was transported across several state lines as \u201cvenue shopping\u201d by the government and \u201can act of either furtiveness or bad faith.\u201d They also revealed that in the days since being moved to a detention center in Louisiana, \u00d6zt\u00fcrk has suffered two more asthma attacks.<\/p>\n Unmanaged asthma can have severe acute outcomes, the most extreme being respiratory failure resulting in death, as well as long-term effects, such as permanently altering a person\u2019s airways. The way to avoid these devastating effects is simple: People with asthma need to have access to their medication, like inhalers, to manage this chronic health condition.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n CBS reported<\/a> that \u00d6zt\u00fcrk suffered another asthma attack during the Friday hearing. She told the court that she had suffered a dozen asthma attacks while in ICE custody, and that they were becoming \u201clonger and harder to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n The Washington Post<\/em> has reported<\/a> that, prior to ICE detaining \u00d6zt\u00fcrk, the State Department \u201cdetermined that the Trump administration had not produced any evidence showing that she engaged in antisemitic activities or made public statements supporting a terrorist organization, as the government has alleged.\u201d The Post<\/em> added:<\/p>\n The finding, contained in a March memo that was described to The Washington Post, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not have sufficient grounds for revoking Ozturk\u2019s visa under an authority empowering the top U.S. diplomat to safeguard the foreign policy interests of the United States.<\/p>\n The memo, written by an office within the State Department, raises doubts about the public accusations made by the Trump administration as it has sought to justify Ozturk\u2019s deportation. The Department of Homeland Security has said Ozturk engaged in activities \u201cin support of Hamas,\u201d a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, but neither that agency nor U.S. prosecutors have provided evidence for that claim.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Despite that finding, the Trump administration revoked \u00d6zt\u00fcrk\u2019s visa without notification then quickly detained her. Video of her disturbing arrest attracted national attention.<\/p>\n Federal immigration authorities detained a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University.\u2060 The government hasn\u2019t filed any charges against Rumeysa, Ozturk, who was in the U.S. on a student visa, her lawyer said.<\/p>\n Read more: https:\/\/t.co\/Vs3iLHGAkU<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/29aNJWaJmr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Before being targeted by the Trump administration, \u00d6zt\u00fcrk was on track<\/a> to receive her doctorate in February. She said at the Friday hearing that she was eager<\/a> to get back to her research on adolescent media use.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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