Rumeysa Ozturk ordered free on bail, after judge says op-ed criticizing Israel is insufficient to justify detention
The Tufts graduate student was detained by ICE on the street in Somerville, Massachusetts in March
Jews attend a rally in support of detained pro-Palestinian Tufts University graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk in Somerville, Massachusetts, March 26, 2025. Several Jews later left the rally after speakers began denouncing Israel. (Courtesy of Ron Newman)
(JTA) — A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of Rumeysa Ozturk, the Tufts University doctoral student who was detained by ICE agents on the street in Somerville, Massachusetts, in March amid a crackdown on pro-Palestinian students on visas.
As with Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian protest leader at Columbia University who was freed last month after being arrested by federal agents, the judge ruling in her case said he was concerned by her detention.
As justification for her arrest, the federal government — which says it is acting to stop antisemitism on campuses — had cited an op-ed Ozturk co-authored that was critical of Tufts’ response to the war in Gaza.
“There is no evidence here as to the motivation, absent the consideration of the op-ed,” U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III said during her bail hearing. He added, “There is absolutely no evidence that she has engaged in violence, or advocated violence, she has no criminal record.”
In April, 27 Jewish groups filed an amicus brief expressing concern over Ozturk’s arrest, and Jewish students at Tufts said they did not support her detention. The government’s effort to deport her will proceed after she is freed.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
