Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in the US capital, was arrested by federal agents two months ago at his home in Virginia and has been held in Texas.
Washington:A US judge ordered the release from custody on Wednesday of an Indian researcher at a top American university who is facing possible deportation for alleged Hamas ties.
Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in the US capital, was arrested by federal agents two months ago at his home in Virginia and has been held in Texas.
District Judge Patricia Giles ordered Suri's immediate release on Wednesday and that he be allowed to return from Texas to his wife and three children in Virginia on his personal recognizance.
"Hearing the judge's words brought tears to my eyes," Suri's wife, Mapheze Saleh, said in a statement released by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which is among the groups representing her husband in court.
"Speaking out about what's happening in Palestine is not a crime," Saleh said. "Let's show the world that this country is still a place where people can and do express their beliefs without fear."
Giles, in ordering Suri's release, said his detention violated his First Amendment rights to free speech.
"The court's order today should send a clear message to the Trump administration that it cannot arrest someone, rip them away from their family, and incarcerate them just for standing in solidarity with Palestinians and against the genocide in Gaza," said Astha Sharma Pokharel, an attorney at the CCR.
Suri's release comes several days after another judge ordered the release from custody of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Ph.D student at Tufts University in Massachusetts, who was detained in another high-profile case.
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