A lawyer representing a Turkish university student detained in the United States and facing deportation saidThursday that his client had been unlawfully abducted, AFP reports.
Earlier this week, a video surfaced on social media showing 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk being detained by masked, plain-clothed figures near Tufts University in Massachusetts. Ozturk had penned an op-ed in a student newspaper decrying Israel’s actions in Gaza and, although she had a valid student visa, is now being held pending her deportation.
Immigration lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai complained that Ozturk had been taken to a detention center in the southern state of Louisiana, despite a court order saying that she remain in Massachusetts.
“Masked DHS agents unlawfully arrested my client,” he said, referring to the Department of Homeland Security and adding that 24 hours after her arrest on Tuesday morning, Ozturk was transferred to Louisiana.
“Throughout that period of time, my client was not charged or given the opportunity to speak with a lawyer,” Khanbabia said.
“I had the opportunity to speak with Rumeysa late Wednesday night and she was grateful to finally get an explanation of what was happening to her.”