A US judge ruled on Thursday that an Indian researcher at a top American university cannot be deported following his arrest and possible expulsion over alleged links to Hamas and for spreading propaganda in support of the armed group.
He is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in Washington.
Suri’s lawyer described his arrest as a “targeted, retaliatory detention” intended to silence him and others who support Palestinian rights.
On Thursday evening, Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled that Suri cannot be deported unless the court decides otherwise.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also filed an emergency motion to prevent his deportation and stated that he is being held in an immigration detention centre in Louisiana.
“Ripping someone from their home and family, stripping them of their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint is a clear attempt by President Trump to silence dissent,” said ACLU immigrant rights attorney Sophia Gregg.
His lawyer stated that neither Secretary of State Marco Rubio “nor any other government official has alleged that Mr Suri has committed any crime or, indeed, broken any law whatsoever.”
The filing accused the US government of detaining Suri “based on his family connection and constitutionally protected free speech.”
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, stated on X that Suri was “a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism on social media.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/world/us-judge-blocks-deportation-of-indian-researcher-accused-of-spreading-hamas-propaganda-13873216.html.
