Turkish Tufts Student Returns After Six Weeks in Detention

Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, returned to Massachusetts on Saturday. She had spent over six weeks in a Louisiana immigration detention center. A U.S. judge ordered her immediate release just one day earlier, on Friday.

At Logan Airport in Boston, Ozturk appeared relieved. “This has been a very difficult time for me,” she said. She looked happy to be back with her community and ready to continue her studies.

Arrest Linked to Gaza Opinion Article

Authorities arrested Ozturk on March 25 in Somerville, Massachusetts. Plainclothes officers detained her near her home. The U.S. State Department had recently revoked her student visa.

Officials based their decision on an opinion article Ozturk co-wrote. The piece criticized Tufts University for not supporting student calls to cut ties with companies connected to Israel. It also urged the school to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide.”

Her lawyers from the ACLU argued that the government arrested her to punish free speech. They claimed the action was meant to silence her and intimidate others.

Ozturk Thanks Supporters, Praises Justice System

Ozturk thanked students, professors, and others who supported her during her detention. “America is the greatest democracy in the world,” she said. “I have faith in the American system of justice.”

She also called attention to others still in custody. She asked people not to forget the many women still being held at the same detention center.

Lawmakers Slam Detention Conditions

U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley, who visited Ozturk in custody, strongly criticized the situation. “Rumeysa’s experience was not just an act of cruelty, it was a deliberate, coordinated attempt to intimidate,” she said.

Pressley said Ozturk was kept in “squalid, inhumane conditions.” She added that Ozturk did not receive proper treatment for asthma attacks. Two other Democratic lawmakers from Massachusetts also visited and expressed concern.

Court Grants Bail After Rights Violation Claim

Following her arrest, immigration officials first held Ozturk in Vermont. Soon after, they transferred her to Louisiana. While in detention, she filed a lawsuit to challenge her treatment.

U.S. District Judge William Sessions in Vermont reviewed the case. On Friday, he granted her bail. The judge said Ozturk had made strong claims that her constitutional rights were violated.