YTB President Eren Reacts to the Detention of PhD Student Rümeysa Öztürk in the USA

YTB President Abdullah Eren showed his reaction to the unlawful detention of Turkish student Rümeysa Öztürk, who is pursuing her doctoral studies at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA, near her home by officers from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

 

Rümeysa Öztürk, a Fulbright scholar and in her final year of doctoral studies, was detained by plainclothes ICE officers the previous evening as she left her home to attend an iftar and had her phone confiscated. Security camera footage showed six masked individuals surrounding Öztürk and subsequently handcuffing her. President of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) Abdullah Eren also reacted to Rümeysa Öztürk's unlawful detention through a statement on social media.

 

Eren stated that Rümeysa Öztürk was detained unlawfully merely for publishing an article criticizing the violence perpetrated by Israel, and continued: "Our citizen Rümeysa Öztürk, who is pursuing her doctoral studies in the USA, was unlawfully detained and treated like a terrorist by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (ICE) merely for publishing an article criticizing the violence perpetrated by Israel. Despite the Massachusetts District Court's clear decision that our sister Rümeysa cannot be moved out of the city, she was unlawfully and without authority transferred to another state. She is not allowed to meet with her attorney or anyone else. We will continue to remain in contact with the Öztürk family and provide all necessary support to ensure that this unlawful process concludes in their favor. We will continue to closely follow the process our citizen is undergoing, with our Embassy in Washington and YTB taking the lead."