Mahmoud Khalil, a student arrested by US immigration authorities in March for his role in pro-Palestine protests, has accused the Columbia University administration of laying “the groundwork for my abduction”, Al Jazeera reports.

In a letter published in the student newspaper, the Columbia Daily Spectator, Khalil said: “Columbia has suppressed student dissent under the auspices of combating anti-Semitism.”

“Anyone who has truly engaged with the movement knows that claims that its goals and purpose are rooted in antisemitism are mere fabrication,” he added, imploring his peers not to “abdicate their responsibility to resist repression”.

Khalil said the crackdown by US immigration authorities on foreign students involved in pro-Palestine campus protests is “oddly reminiscent of when I fled the brutality of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria”.

“To the students who remain apathetic to Columbia’s disregard for human life and its willingness to discard student safety: As pressure from the federal government intensifies, know that your neutrality on Palestine will not protect you,” he said.