US politicians, rights groups denounce arrest of Turkish student who criticised Israel
US lawmakers and rights groups have denounced the arrest of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University who has criticised Israel’s war on Gaza, and the revoking of her visa – calling it an alarming crackdown on free speech and civil liberties.
Michigan Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib slammed the arrest, warning of escalating government repression.
“The Trump administration is abducting people off the streets,” Tlaib wrote on Instagram.
“They are starting with people who stand up for Palestinians and human rights … but they won’t stop there.”
Ozturk was one of four students last March who co-authored an op-ed piece in The Tufts Daily, criticising the university’s response to its community union Senate passing resolutions that demanded Tufts “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide,” disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel
Senator Elizabeth Warren also criticised the arrest, calling it part of a broader assault on fundamental rights.
“This arrest is the latest in an alarming pattern to stifle civil liberties,” Warren said. “The Trump administration is targeting students with legal status and ripping people out of their communities without due process. This is an attack on our constitution and basic freedoms –and we will push back.”
Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Massachusetts chapter, called Ozturk’s detention an “abduction” and an attack on academic freedom.
“This alarming act of repression is a direct assault on free speech and academic freedom. Massachusetts residents must recognise the dangerous precedent being set – the federal government is resorting to draconian tactics to silence those who speak out against our nation’s complicity in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people.”
Last edited by SvennoJ - on 26 March 2025
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