A federal judge in Vermont has granted a request for bail from a Tufts University student who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Federal Judge William K. Sessions III, appointed by former President Barack Obama, granted Rümeysa Öztürk’s request for bail on Friday, saying that her arrest raises significant due process and First Amendment concerns. Ozturk isn’t a U.S. citizen and is in the country on a student visa.
Sessions ordered her to be released immediately and determined she is not a danger to the community or a flight risk. He said he wants to be updated when she is released and will impose modest restrictions on Öztürk if ICE requests them.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Öztürk in court, told Fox News Digital in a statement they are pleased with the ruling.
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“Rümeysa can now return to her beloved Tufts community, resume her studies, and begin teaching again. We could not be more delighted,” said Noor Zafar, senior staff attorney with ACLU. “Today’s ruling underscores a vital First Amendment principle: No one should be imprisoned by the government for expressing their beliefs.”
During the hearing, Sessions III noted that Öztürk has asthma and added her detention might be having an impact on her health. Öztürk had an asthma attack during the hearing, which she attended remotely.
Sessions III also said that the government’s action by detaining Öztürk “chills the speech” of millions of non-citizens who are in the country.
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The federal judge said Öztürk is free to return to her Massachusetts home and didn’t place any restrictions on her travel.
On the same day Öztürk’s bail request was granted, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday that Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi can remain out of federal custody while a legal challenge against his detention is working through the court system, according to CBS.
The decision comes after the Trump administration sought to put Mahdawi back in federal custody.
Öztürk was detained by ICE agents on March 26. Federal officials previously accused Öztürk of supporting Hamas.
Öztürk co-authored an article in the Tufts student newspaper calling on the institution to divest from Israel and criticized its response to the Israel-Hamas war.
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