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Turkish scientist Furkan Dolek was released from U.S. custody on $50,000 bail Tuesday and has relocated to Chicago as his legal proceedings continue, according to representatives monitoring his case.
Seyit Sahin, chairman of the Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC) and a lawyer, told Anadolu Agency that Dolek was freed pending trial from a detention facility in El Paso, Texas, near the Mexican border. He later traveled to Chicago with his attorney.
In a joint statement, Sahin and attorney Michael Gokhan Kiran, who are voluntarily following the case on behalf of TASC, said: “It is our responsibility to defend the rights of the Turkish American community. Dr. Furkan Dolek’s regaining his freedom is the natural outcome of this responsibility.”
Supporters mobilized by TASC raised the bail amount in a short period, and Dolek will remain in Chicago during the ongoing legal process.
Dolek, who previously conducted postdoctoral research at Virginia Tech and at CERN in Switzerland, later worked at Fermilab, the U.S. Department of Energy’s national particle physics and accelerator laboratory located near Chicago.
In March 2024, he reported alleged irregularities at Fermilab, including unsafe working conditions and possible radioactive exposure affecting staff. After sharing his claims with authorities and publicly on social media, Dolek was dismissed from the lab in April, and his research visa was revoked.
In a series of LinkedIn posts, Dolek alleged he had witnessed “exploited researchers forced to work under unsafe conditions,” where “the most vulnerable (were) left unprotected while misconduct was covered up,” and claimed there had been “fraud and retaliation against anyone who dared to speak.”
“I reported it through every official whistleblower channel,” Dolek wrote. “Instead of protection, I was punished: false charges, dismissal and total institutional silence.”
Dolek filed a lawsuit challenging the visa revocation but, after unsuccessful legal proceedings, remained in the United States without valid documentation for several months.
In protest, he began marching toward Canada in late August, a move that drew wide attention on social media, particularly among Turkish-American and academic circles.
After his final social media post on Aug. 27, Dolek went missing. On Sept. 4, following inquiries by the Turkish Consulate General in New York City, U.S. authorities confirmed he was being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in New York.
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