A U.S. federal appeals court convened on Tuesday to discuss the case of Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old Tufts University doctoral student who has been in immigration detention for six weeks.
It comes after Ozturk was one of four students who authored an op-ed last year criticizing Tufts University's response to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
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Ozturk was taken into custody in March after being informed that her student visa had been revoked. She was rapidly transferred between facilities, moving from Massachusetts to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana within a 24-hour period.
Her attorneys are urging a panel of three federal judges to allow her transfer back north, closer to her family and legal support. The government opposes this request, arguing that her attorneys filed the transfer request improperly more than six weeks ago.
Ozturk's legal team contends that she is being penalized because of that op-ed, which largely supported the people in Gaza, and some have perceived as anti-Israel.
The judges must determine whether Ozturk should be transferred back north, with a decision expected in the coming days. However, the timeline for a ruling remains uncertain.
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In related matters, the court also addressed the case of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student who was recently detained during a citizenship interview. Although he has been released following a recent hearing, the government is seeking to detain him again, and wants to consolidate both cases, which could have significant implications for the both Ozturk and Mahdawi.
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