WEB DESK: Student in U.S. has been arrested for speaking out against Israeli aggression and in support of Palestine.
In a recent incident highlighting the ongoing tensions surrounding support for Palestinian rights, another student was arrested in the United States for voicing opposition to Israeli aggression. The student, Romisa Ozturk, a Turkish national studying at Tufts University in Massachusetts, was taken into custody by U.S. immigration authorities.
The 30-year-old was reportedly on her way to break her fast during Ramadan when she was apprehended by agents from Homeland Security, who approached her in plain clothes and handcuffed her. The incident was captured on video and went viral on social media. Reports indicate that Romisa had participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
According to the university’s president, immigration officials claimed that Romisa’s visa had expired. Her only alleged offense was a previous article she wrote in the Tufts Daily advocating for Palestinian rights, which has reportedly led to her being targeted by the Trump administration.
A judge ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) not to transfer Romisa without giving a 48-hour notice. The Trump administration has imposed restrictions on protests by students at U.S. universities against Israel, which has been accused of committing atrocities against Palestinians, and has announced a crackdown on those advocating for Palestinian rights.
Additionally, on March 18, Dr. Rasha Alaviya, a 34-year-old Muslim professor from Lebanon, was allegedly deported for attending the funeral of a Hezbollah leader. She was an assistant professor at Brown University’s medical school in Rhode Island.
Following her case, on Sunday, March 23, Indian professor Badr Khan Suri, who teaches at Georgetown University, was arrested outside his home in Northern Virginia by Homeland Security agents. His only crime was marrying a Palestinian woman.
In response to these incidents, the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers have accused the Trump administration of trying to control the intellectual autonomy of universities and regulate the thoughts, knowledge, and expression of faculty and students. They assert that the administration is pressuring universities to regulate speech and expression on campus.
