Turkey Monitors Detention of Turkish Student

(MENAFN) The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday that it is carefully monitoring the situation involving a Turkish doctoral candidate who was taken into custody in the United States the previous month.

This action came after she co-authored an article expressing support for Palestine, which was published in a student-run newspaper.

The student, 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk, was among four individuals who contributed to an opinion piece in a student’s newspaper, at Tufts University.

The article criticized the institution’s reaction to campus activists who had urged the university to "acknowledge the Palestinian genocide," make transparent its financial ties, and withdraw investments connected to Israeli interests.

On March 25, Ozturk was detained by masked immigration authorities in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. She was then transported to Vermont and placed on a flight to a detention facility located in Louisiana.

In the aftermath of her arrest, her student visa was annulled.

Based on a statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Ozturk’s situation has been under continuous scrutiny since the beginning.

The Ministry referred to her as a "symbolic figure" in a broader judicial matter influenced by shifts in domestic policy in the U.S., which it claims has implications for numerous foreign students.

The Ministry also noted that the legal steps being taken are consistent with the wishes of Ozturk and her family, and her fundamental rights are being respected throughout the process.

Furthermore, Turkish consular officials have been involved in supporting Ozturk from the outset.

The consul general based in Houston made several visits to see her in Louisiana, while the consul general in Boston held a virtual meeting with her.

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