Judge rules Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk must be transferred to Vermont
A federal court judge has ruled that Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk should be moved to Vermont while a lawsuit challenging her "unconstitutional detention" is pending.
The decision made on Friday came in response to Ozturk being detained by plainclothes immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) agents in masks on the street close to her home in Somerville, Massachusetts, on 25 March as she was on her way to break her fast for Ramadan.
She was driven to multiple places in three states - including New Hampshire and Vermont -before being flown thousands of miles to an ICE detention centre in Basile, Louisiana, making it difficult for her to have access to legal help and community.
Her lawyer filed a habeas petition in Massachusetts without knowing that Ozturk was in Vermont at the time. Consequently, a judge in Massachusetts ordered the case to be moved to Vermont. Last Monday, Judge William K. Sessions III heard arguments from the government and Ozturk’s legal counsel.
Ozturk’s legal team argued that moving Ozturk to Louisiana was an attempt to manipulate federal court jurisdiction.
Read more: Judge rules Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk must be transferred to Vermont
