Rümeysa Öztürk: Case challenging Tufts University Phd student's ICE detention moved to Vermont
Boston, Massachusetts - A federal judge in Boston on Friday transferred the case of detained Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk to Vermont.
"Here, because Öztürk was confined overnight in Vermont when the petition was filed, the District of Vermont is the proper transferee court," US District Judge Denise Casper ruled, denying a government request to have the case moved to Louisiana.
The 30-year-old PhD student was detained by plainclothes immigration agents on the streets of Somerville, Massachusetts, on March 25, as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on noncitizen students who support Palestinian human rights. The disturbing incident was captured on surveillance video.
The Trump administration revoked Öztürk's student visa days earlier – on March 21 – but had not notified her.
In March of last year, the Turkish Fulbright scholar had co-written an op-ed in The Tufts Daily criticizing the university's response to calls for divestment from Israel, among other demands.
After her detention, Öztürk was sent from Massachusetts to New Hampshire to Vermont, before boarding a flight to Louisiana, where she is currently detained. She reportedly suffered an asthma attack during transit.
The Department of Justice argued earlier this week that the US District Court in Boston has no jurisdiction to decide on Öztürk's habeas corpus petition challenging her detention, as she was no longer in the state at the time of the filing.
Öztürk's lawyers said they had no way of knowing where she was when they submitted the petition for her immediate release. They have argued the detention violates her free speech and due process rights.
Tufts University on Wednesday called for Öztürk's release "without delay so that she can return to complete her studies and finish her degree."
Cover photo: REUTERS