Merve Aydogan
04 April 2025•Update: 04 April 2025
HAMILTON, Canada
Turkish PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk challenged her detention in a Boston federal court, arguing that her arrest and rapid transfer out of Massachusetts were unlawful, according to a report Thursday.
Ozturk, a 30-year-old Fulbright scholar and third-year doctoral student at Tufts University, was arrested by masked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 25 as she left her home in Somerville to attend an iftar, or fast-breaking dinner, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Within hours, she was flown to a detention center in Louisiana.
During Thursday's hearing, US District Judge Denise J. Casper pressed government lawyers on whether the rapid transfer across multiple states was routine or an attempt to hinder legal efforts to challenge her detention, according to a report by The Boston Globe.
"The question, counsel, is if recent is regular," Casper told Assistant US Attorney Mark Sauter, who defended the transfer as standard practice.
Prosecutors argued that Ozturk's case should be heard in Louisiana, where she is being held, but her lawyers insisted the jurisdiction should remain in Massachusetts or Vermont, where she was when they filed a petition for her release.
Ozturk's attorneys and supporters believe she was targeted for co-authoring an op-ed in The Tufts Daily criticizing the university's response to the pro-Palestinian movement.
Tufts President Sunil Kumar defended Ozturk, saying: "The university has no information to support the allegations that she was engaged in activities that warrant her arrest and detention."
Outside the courthouse, protesters chanted "Free Rumeysa now."
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts attorney Adriana Lafaille accused ICE of "secretly whisking her away" to make legal action harder.
Following the hearing, one of Ozturk's attorneys, Mahsa Khanbabai, read a statement she said Ozturk had dictated to her that morning.
"My life is committed to choosing peaceful and inclusive ways to meet the needs of children," it said.
"I believe the world is a more beautiful and peaceful place when we listen to each other and allow different perspectives to be in the room. Writing is one of the most peaceful ways of addressing systemic inequality. Efforts to target me because of my op-ed in The Tufts Daily calling for the equal dignity and humanity of all people will not deter me from my commitment to advocate for the rights of youth and children," Ozturk said.
The judge has not yet ruled on the case.
