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4mo ago

Appeals Court Orders Transfer of Detained Tufts Student from Louisiana to Vermont

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Rumeysa Ozturk must be moved by May 14 for hearings on the legality of her detention, rejecting the Justice Department's appeal.

Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University in Somerville, Massachusetts, poses in an undated photograph provided by her family and obtained by Reuters on March 29, 2025. Courtesy of the Ozturk family/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Esta foto muestra a Rumeysa Ozturk, una estudiante turca de la Universidad de Tufts, en EEUU, en un viaje de recolección de manzanas en 2021. (AP Foto)
Mohsen Mahdawi speaks outside the courthouse after a judge released the Palestinian student activist on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 in Burlington, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)
Muslim protestors pray outside the main campus of Columbia University during a demonstration to denounce the immigration arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who helped lead protests against Israel at the university, in New York City, U.S., March 14, 2025. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/File Photo

Overview

  • Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, has been detained for six weeks following her March 25 arrest in Massachusetts for alleged pro-Palestinian advocacy.
  • The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's order to transfer Ozturk from a Louisiana detention facility to Vermont by May 14 for habeas hearings.
  • The Justice Department had argued that Ozturk's case should remain under the jurisdiction of an immigration court in Louisiana, but the appeals court disagreed.
  • Ozturk's lawyers claim her detention violates constitutional rights, including free speech and due process, linking her arrest to an op-ed she co-authored criticizing Israel's actions in Gaza.
  • The decision is part of broader legal battles involving the Trump administration's crackdown on international students engaged in pro-Palestinian activism.