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US: Tufts University student detained for pro-Palestine views transferred to Louisiana

Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national on a student visa, is currently being held in detention in Louisiana, according to her lawyer, Middle East Eye can reveal.

A Massachusetts judge ordered her not to be removed from the state, but it is unclear whether she was moved before or after the order was delivered. 

Masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents approached and physically restrained the Tufts University doctoral student while on the street in Somerville, Massachusetts, on Wednesday before taking her into custody for “pro-Palestine” views. She is being held at the South Louisiana Processing Center.  

Chilling video footage of the incident on Tuesday shows a man approaching Ozturk, while she was on the phone with her mother, and grabbing her wrists. Five other agents surrounded her, removed her backpack, and placed her in handcuffs before escorting her away.

Ozturk, looking terrified, could be heard screaming that she had done nothing wrong.

Read more: US: Tufts University student detained for pro-Palestine views transferred to Louisiana