US Universities Rally against Detentions of Pro-Palestine Students, Scholars
Students and faculty warn that the detention of Palestine supporters signals a broader attack on academic freedom.
By Palestine Chronicle Staff Coordinated protests were held this week at Columbia University in New York, Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and Tufts University in Massachusetts, as students and faculty rallied against the arrests of academics and students who expressed support for the Palestinian cause.
The protests focused on demanding the release of three people: Badar Khan Suri, a scholar affiliated with Georgetown University; Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and graduate student at Columbia University; and Rumeisa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts. All three were reportedly detained by US authorities for their pro-Palestinian activism.
Dr. Nader Hashemi, a professor of Middle East politics at Georgetown and a vocal advocate for civil liberties, joined the protests.
He condemned the arrests, stating that the detainees were being held without charge. “This is clearly a policy aimed at silencing pro-Palestinian free _expression_,” Hashemi said.
Hashemi also revealed that he had visited Badar Khan Suri in the Texas detention center where he is being held. Suri was arrested in March and has since been subjected to difficult conditions, according to Hashemi.
“He’s only allowed outside for two hours a week,” he said. Hashemi also shared that a Syrian detainee imprisoned alongside Suri has been engaging others in discussions about the nonviolent philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi—an act Hashemi sees as a form of resistance and a way of raising awareness about the genocide in Gaza.
Dr. Elliott Colla, an associate professor in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, also participated in the protest. He voiced concern over the broader implications of the arrests.
“If they can do this to one academic, they can do the same to all of us,” he said. Colla noted that the growing atmosphere of fear on campuses is particularly affecting immigrant and international students, many of whom now worry about their legal status and safety.
Demonstrations have continued weekly at all three campuses. Every Monday, students and faculty gather to call for the release of Suri, Khalil, and Ozturk, whom they regard as political prisoners targeted for standing in solidarity with Palestinians.
Mahmoud Khalil was arrested on March 8. He had been a prominent figure in last year’s solidarity protests at Columbia University, where he spoke out strongly against what he described as Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Since early March, US immigration authorities have revoked the visas and legal status of more than 1,000 international students. Several lawsuits have since been filed against the Trump administration’s actions, and while a small number of students have had their legal status temporarily restored through court orders, the vast majority remain in legal limbo.
The crackdown comes amid a wave of pro-Palestine demonstrations on US campuses. What began as a student-led movement at Columbia has now spread to more than 50 universities nationwide.
Police have arrested over 3,100 people since the protests began—most of them students and faculty members—sparking widespread criticism from civil rights groups and academic organizations.