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Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University who was detained for nearly six weeks after expressing support for Palestine, has been released following a federal judge's order, drawing reactions from Turkish officials and U.S. senators.
Türkiye's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesperson Omer Celik stated that Ozturk's release was a positive development after her detention for supporting Palestinian rights.
"Our sister Rumeysa , who was arrested for opposing the oppression in Palestine and defending human values, has been released," Celik said on social media. "Türkiye will continue to defend the Palestinian cause and human values. We send our greetings to our sister Rumeysa ."
AK Party Deputy Chairman Efkan Ala expressed similar sentiments, calling Ozturk's release "gratifying" after she was detained "for not remaining silent about the systematic massacres in Palestine, for not consenting to the normalization of evil, and for expressing the voice of global conscience."
"We thank our Ministry of Foreign Affairs for closely following the process from the beginning and providing all necessary support," Ala added.
"As Türkiye, we will continue to support the just cause of Palestine and stand by the oppressed Palestinian people."
Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas praised Ozturk's courage, stating, "The courage of a woman who did not remain silent against genocide has prevailed. Rumeysa Ozturk, who was unjustly detained and deprived of her freedom for supporting Palestine in the U.S., not only became a voice for the cry of the Palestinian people but also became the voice of human conscience."
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc called Ozturk's release "a positive development that relieved the public conscience," emphasizing its importance for fundamental human rights and freedom of expression.
"This process once again shows that prosecuting an individual based on their beliefs and support for Palestine can never be accepted," Tunc said. "There should be no tolerance for practices that are incompatible with democratic values, discrimination, marginalization, Islamophobia, and double standards, like the injustice our sister Rumeysa experienced."
Tunc later noted that the Ministry of Justice had supported Ozturk diplomatically and legally from the beginning, with justice counselors personally monitoring the hearings.
Several U.S. senators also criticized Ozturk's detention. Senator Bernie Sanders stated on social media, "Judge Sessions is right. Neither Rumeysa Ozturk or anyone else in America should be in jail for authoring an op-ed critical of Israel or on any subject."
Sanders added that President Trump and his colleagues "should read the Constitution and, especially, the First Amendment" and called for Ozturk's immediate release.
Senator Ed Markey described the situation as a "victory for Rumeysa, for justice, and for our democracy," noting that she had been "unlawfully detained for more than six weeks in an ICE facility in Louisiana, more than 1,500 miles away from Somerville."
Senator Chris Van Hollen called it a "victory for the rule of law" and demanded that "these baseless abductions must STOP NOW."
Ozturk, a PhD student at Tufts University in Massachusetts, was detained on March 25 by six masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while on her way to break her Ramadan fast with friends.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had announced that Ozturk's student visa was canceled and that she would be deported. Rubio mentioned that visas of more than 300 foreign students, whom he described as "Hamas supporters" and "anti-Israel lunatics," had been canceled.
U.S. Federal Judge Denise Casper issued a stay against Ozturk's deportation, while Tufts University President Sunil Kumar told the court that Ozturk's arrest had "paralyzed the school's international community" and raised concerns about campus safety.
Upon her release from the Louisiana detention center, Ozturk briefly addressed the press: "I'm a bit tired, so I'll rest a bit, but I'm really grateful that you're here." She was greeted by cheers from supporters as she left the facility.
Federal Judge William K. Sessions III ordered Ozturk's release on bail, stating there was "no evidence" introduced by the government other than an op-ed she co-authored last year about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the school's student newspaper.
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