What we know about the Tufts University student detained by federal agents
As the sun began to set Tuesday over Somerville, Massachusetts, Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk was on her way to meet friends at an Iftar dinner where they would break their Ramadan fast.
But she would never make it to the gathering, according to her attorney. Instead, the 30-year-old was arrested and physically restrained by immigration officers near her apartment, close to Tufts University바카라 게임 웹사이트s Somerville campus where she was a PhD student, lawyer Masha Khanbabai told CNN.
Six plainclothes officers surrounded Ozturk as she walked alone, neighborhood surveillance video appears to show. The officers did not show their badges until she was restrained, the video shows.
Ozturk is one of several foreign nationals affiliated with prestigious American universities to be arrested for purported activities related to terrorist organizations amid the Trump administration바카라 게임 웹사이트s immigration crackdown. They include Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian activist taken into custody this month outside his Columbia University apartment.
Ozturk 바카라 게임 웹사이트engaged in activities in support of Hamas,바카라 게임 웹사이트 a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement without specifying what those alleged activities were.
No charges have been filed against Ozturk, her attorney told CNN. She is being held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Here바카라 게임 웹사이트s what we know about her arrest:
Who is Rumeysa Ozturk?
Ozturk was enrolled in a PhD program at Tufts University on a valid F-1 visa, which allows international students to pursue full-time academic studies, Khanbabai said.
In March 2024, Ozturk cowrote an in which she criticized Tufts바카라 게임 웹사이트 response to a student government group바카라 게임 웹사이트s call for the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel because of the conflict in Gaza, among other demands.
Video below: Video shows federal agents detaining Tufts student
바카라 게임 웹사이트Credible accusations against Israel include accounts of deliberate starvation and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians and plausible genocide,바카라 게임 웹사이트 the op-ed says.
Tufts University officials said the school had no prior knowledge of her arrest.
The university 바카라 게임 웹사이트did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event, and the location where this took place is not affiliated with Tufts University,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Tufts President Sunil Kumar said in a written statement. 바카라 게임 웹사이트From what we have been told subsequently, the student바카라 게임 웹사이트s visa status has been terminated, and we seek to confirm whether that information is true.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Kumar shared the concerns of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell in calling the video of Ozturk바카라 게임 웹사이트s arrest 바카라 게임 웹사이트disturbing,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said in an updated statement late Wednesday that included additional guidance and resources for international students.
바카라 게임 웹사이트We recognize how frightening and distressing this situation is for (Ozturk), her loved ones, and the larger community here at Tufts, especially our international students, staff, and faculty who may be feeling vulnerable or unsettled by these events,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Kumar added.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Let me assure you that the university is doing everything in our power to support our community, as we continue to learn more information about this troubling event in real time,바카라 게임 웹사이트 a Tufts official wrote to university alumni in an email obtained by CNN.
The university is in touch with local, state and federal elected officials and 바카라 게임 웹사이트hope that Rumeysa is provided the opportunity to avail herself of her due process rights,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said.
The Turkish government is monitoring the case and staying in touch with Ozturk바카라 게임 웹사이트s family, it said.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Initiatives have been made with the US Department of State, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Unit and other authorized units,바카라 게임 웹사이트 the Turkish embassy said , on Wednesday. 바카라 게임 웹사이트Every effort is being made to provide the necessary consular services and legal support to protect the rights of our citizens.바카라 게임 웹사이트
A U.S. State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the case.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Due to privacy and other considerations, and visa confidentiality, we generally will not comment on Department actions with respect to specific cases,바카라 게임 웹사이트 a State Department spokesperson told CNN.
Sudden arrest caught on camera
Surveillance video released Wednesday and obtained from a neighbor by the advocacy group appears to show six plainclothes officers casually approaching Ozturk as she walks alone on a sidewalk.
One officer wearing a hat and hoodie grabs her arms, causing Ozturk to shriek in fear as another pulls out a concealed badge on a lanyard and confiscates her cell phone.
Shortly afterward, the officers all pull cloth coverings over their mouths and noses, some of them wearing sunglasses, as one of them restrains Ozturk바카라 게임 웹사이트s hands behind her back.
As the officers say, 바카라 게임 웹사이트We바카라 게임 웹사이트re the police,바카라 게임 웹사이트 a person not seen in the video can be heard responding, 바카라 게임 웹사이트Yeah, you don바카라 게임 웹사이트t look like it. Why are you hiding your faces?바카라 게임 웹사이트
One minute after the encounter began, Ozturk is walked into a waiting SUV and driven away.
ICE has not responded to CNN바카라 게임 웹사이트s request for comment on Ozturk바카라 게임 웹사이트s case.
The use of facial coverings is similar to an account of the arrest of Georgetown University fellow Bada Khan Suri, whose attorney Nermeen Arastu told CNN the officers who detained Khan Suri were 바카라 게임 웹사이트brandishing weapons.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트ICE agents came in the night, took him captive, taking him from his wife and children, and hauled him away to an unknown location before transferring him to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana, far from his family and attorneys,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Arastu added on Suri.
Detained in Louisiana
After she was detained on Tuesday, Ozturk바카라 게임 웹사이트s attorney filed a petition in federal district court in Boston challenging the legality of her detention and asking her not to be moved out of Massachusetts.
바카라 게임 웹사이트(Ozturk) shall not be moved outside the District of Massachusetts without first providing advance notice of the intended move,바카라 게임 웹사이트 District Judge Indira Talwani, an , wrote Tuesday in an order.
But she already had been transferred to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Wednesday.
Ozturk is now the third international student known to be transferred to Louisiana after being detained by federal officers. Khalil and Georgetown fellow Badar Khan Suri were both transferred to an ICE detention facility in Jena.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Like all the other immigration cases related to international students and activists who have spoken up about the atrocities in Palestine, the government throws around wild accusations but provides no evidence,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Khanbabai said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트We hope Rumeysa will be released immediately.바카라 게임 웹사이트