Badar Khan Suri, a researcher at Georgetown University in the US, has been released from a Texas detention centre after a federal judge ruled that his arrest violated his rights to free speech and due process.
Suri, an Indian national and postdoctoral fellow at the prestigious Washington DC institution, was detained on March 17 outside his Virginia home by immigration agents. He was in the United States on a student visa.
His lawyers say he was targeted for expressing support for Palestinian rights and because of family ties to Gaza. US authorities accused him of spreading Hamas propaganda and alleged he had "connections to a known or suspected terrorist".
The US Department of Justice argued thatSuri should remain in detention until court proceedings were completed. However, US district judge Patricia Tolliver Giles disagreed, ordering his release on Wednesday and rejecting claims that he had links to Hamas.
“There was no evidence submitted to this court regarding statements that he made” in support of Hamas, the judge said.
The government alleged that Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh—a US citizen—had ties to Hamas through her father, a former political adviser in Gaza. However, Saleh stated in court that her father lived in the US for nearly 20 years while studying, and later served as a political adviser to the Prime Minister of Gaza. She said he left the Gaza government in 2010 and went on to establish an institute promoting peace and conflict resolution.
Suri’s father-in-law, who was reportedly a former adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in July last year.
“Hearing the judge’s words brought tears to my eyes,” Saleh said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is representing Suri. “I truly wish I could give her a heartfelt hug from me and from my three children, who long every day to see their father again.”
She added: “Speaking out about what’s happening in Palestine is not a crime.”
Despite his release, the Trump administration is continuing efforts to deport Suri through separate legal proceedings, the ACLU said.
In recent weeks, several students and academics have come under investigation by US immigration authorities, who accuse them of promoting “violence and terrorism”.
Among them is Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and permanent US resident, who was arrested on March 8 after participating in pro-Palestinian protests on campus. He denies allegations of ties to Hamas.
Suri’s release follows the case of Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was freed on bail days earlier after being detained in Louisiana. She had been arrested on a street in Massachusetts in March and accused of “engaging in activities in support of Hamas”.
