27.03.2025 15:33
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç reacted to the incident where a Turkish student in the U.S. was taken into custody by ICE officials in handcuffs without any explanation as he was leaving home to attend iftar. Minister Tunç stated, "It is unacceptable for him to be detained and face an unjust practice simply for advocating for the Palestinian cause."
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In Boston, USA, Turkish student Rümeysa Öztürk was detained by officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as she was leaving her home to go for iftar. Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç reacted to Öztürk's detention.
"HER DETENTION FOR DEFENDING PALESTINE IS UNACCEPTABLE"
Minister Tunç stated, "It is unacceptable for her to be detained for defending the Palestinian cause and to face an unjust application."
WHAT HAPPENED?
Rümeysa Öztürk, a Fulbright scholar in her final year of doctoral education in the USA, was stopped by plainclothes ICE officers as she left her home in Massachusetts on the evening of March 25 to go for iftar. Security camera footage showed six officers, some with masked faces, surrounding Öztürk and trying to forcibly take her phone from her hand. As ICE officers detained the Turkish student by handcuffing her hands behind her back, Öztürk's vocal objections were captured on camera.
Öztürk's lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, announced that they had lost contact with her, and a written statement from Tufts University indicated that the university administration had not been informed in any way about this detention process. The Turkish Embassy in Washington stated that Öztürk's situation is being closely monitored and that necessary initiatives have been taken with the relevant US authorities. Rümeysa Öztürk's detention occurred during the period when the Donald Trump administration was exerting pressure on students and academics who support Palestine.
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