BURLINGTON, VT– Supporters flooded the streets outside Vermont Federal Court Monday, demanding the release of Tufts University Ph.D. student Rümeysa Öztürk, detained by ICE after “pro-Palestine” activism.
Protesters lined the streets of Elmwood Avenue in downtown Burlington, showing support following a hearing that would determine in what state Öztürk should be tried.
Öztürk, a former Fulbright Scholar, originally from Turkey studying in the US with an F-1 student visa, was detained by masked ICE officers near her apartment in Somerville, Massachusetts, almost three weeks ago, reported CNN.
Öztürk is just one university student who has been targeted by the Trump administration for taking pro-Palestine stances, with claims that students like Öztürk have been involved in activities that are in support of the Hamas terrorist group.
According to a statement from the ACLU, Öztürk has been bounced around different detention centers in the U.S., noting the government used an op-ed she wrote for a student newspaper on Tufts University’s response to activism on campus last spring as evidence for detention.
The ACLU details, “Ms. Öztürk was taken into federal custody by six ICE agents in Somerville, MA, on March 25. That evening, she was driven to Methuen, MA; then, to Lebanon, NH; and, ultimately, to St. Albans, VT, where she spent the night in an ICE detention cell. In the early hours of the next morning, she was transported to Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport and flown to Louisiana.”
The ACLU added there was a filed habeas petition while she was in Vermont, leading to a district court judge in MA ruling that Vermont District court was where the case would be heard, by Judge William K. Sessions III.
Awaiting answers on the motion to dismiss hearing, protestors filled the streets, and organizers spoke with cars passing by, horns blaring, showing their support for Öztürk.
UVM Students for Justice in Palestine spoke at the demonstration, sharing Öztürk’s story and “her criticisms of her university administration’s undemocratic response to the passing of three student government resolutions” following on-campus demonstrations.
“Protesting genocide is not a crime” – UVM SJP flyer
UVM SJP also posted on its Instagram page a flyer calling people to Burlington District Federal Court to protest, stating, “Protesting genocide is not a crime” further explaining the nature of the hearing in the caption, “the hearing will decide if her case may be heard in Vermont instead of Louisiana where ICE is currently imprisoning her.”
The motion to dismiss, scheduled for 9:30 a.m., had a line outside of the courthouse of people waiting to observe the proceedings.
Armed Department of Homeland Security officers, as well as ICE cars surrounding the courthouse, started to filter people into the building when the announcement was made that an ID was required and no phones were allowed on the premises.
While it is procedure to take phones before entering the courtroom, with an option for them to hold it for you, security seemed tighter than usual, requiring IDs and a rule of no devices, including phones.
Protesters held up signs, banners, and other works of art stating, “Free Rümeysa: Justice NOT Genocide!,” “1st amendment for all” and “apartheid free community. Songs could be heard being sung by the demonstrators, who waved Palestinian flags outside the courthouse, waiting for an update in Öztürk’s case.
According to an article published by VTDigger, Judge Sessions didn’t rule during the hearing on the decision to detain Öztürk further; he appeared open to the idea of ordering her to be transferred to Vermont from Basile, LA, an idea that was brought forward by her legal team that argued, “that ICE wrongly targeted her for exercising her rights to free speech.
