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A Turkish doctoral student detained for more than six weeks after co-authoring a controversial newspaper opinion piece was ordered released on bail Friday, following a judge's determination that her asthma placed her at significant health risk while in custody.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a fifth-year doctoral candidate at Tufts University, had been held in a Louisiana immigration detention center since her March 25 arrest by plainclothes immigration officers in Somerville, Massachusetts.
U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions III in Vermont ordered Ozturk's release, allowing her to return to Massachusetts and resume her studies while still facing removal proceedings.
Ozturk's detention came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked her student visa and initiated deportation proceedings following her co-authorship of an op-ed in the student newspaper. The piece called on Tufts University's president to support a student referendum advocating divestment from Israeli companies amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The case has raised concerns about academic freedom and the treatment of international students expressing political views. Immigration advocates have questioned the circumstances of her arrest, noting that masked officers took her off a Somerville street without warning.
While released from detention, Ozturk still faces an uncertain future as her immigration case continues through the legal system. University officials have not commented on whether they will intervene in the proceedings affecting their doctoral candidate.
The State Department has not issued any public statements regarding the decision to revoke Ozturk's visa or the judge's order for her release.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc called the release of Rumeysa Ozturk in U.S. a “positive development that relieves the public conscience.”
“The fact that our sister Rumeysa will regain her freedom is extremely important in terms of fundamental human rights and freedom of expression,” Tunc said in a statement.
He emphasized that the case highlighted the unacceptability of prosecuting someone for their beliefs and support for Palestine.
“Practices incompatible with democratic values, discrimination, marginalization, Islamophobia, and double standards, such as the injustice suffered by our sister Rumeysa, should never be tolerated,” Tunc added.
The Justice Ministry, he noted, had actively supported Ozturk both diplomatically and legally from the outset, with staff personally monitoring the hearings.
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