Georgetown scholar released from ICE custody after judge's ruling
A Georgetown scholar who had been detained by immigration authorities in March allegedly based on his pro-Palestinian speech was released from custody Wednesday afternoon following an order from a federal judge, the ACLU said.
Judge Patricia Giles of the Eastern District of Virginia had ordered the visiting scholar, Dr. Badar Khan Suri, to be released on bail.
During a court hearing, the judge sided with the ACLU's argument that Suri, who had lawful status, was detained based on his protected First Amendment speech in support of Palestine and that he was unjustly punished by association of his wife, who had once worked with the Gaza foreign ministry, and his father-in-law's connection with a now-deceased Hamas leader. Suri's wife is a U.S. citizen, his attorneys said.
Judge Giles concluded that Suri is not a flight risk and not a danger to the community and thus should be released on bail, while continuing to participate in his separate removal proceedings.
The judge also admonished the government for declining to submit any further arguments or evidence that Suri is not being "retaliated" for what she concluded was First Amendment protected speech, even as high ranking officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio or President Donald Trump have been making statements about Suri and others in similar situations.
Judge Giles said Suri's continued detention in Texas will cause "irreparable harm" both to him and to the public due to the "chilling effect" his detention has caused on First Amendment protected free speech.
As conditions of his release, the judge said Suri should continue to reside in Virginia and attend all court hearings in this case as well as his separate removal proceedings.
She rejected the government's other requests for conditions of his bail, including imposing a GPS monitor. Per the plaintiffs' request, the judge also explicitly prohibited the government from redetaining him without a 48-hour notice to the court and to his counsel.
Wednesday's court hearing was attended by dozens of people, including the scholar's family members, friends and colleagues at Georgetown and advocates.
Eden Heilman, legal director for the ACLU of Virginia, called Suri's release a "huge victory" in a press conference after the court hearing.
"Dr. Khan Suri should never have been detained in the first place," Heilman said. "He never should have been arrested. He should never have had his First Amendment rights, which protect all us, regardless of citizenship, trampled on because ideas are not illegal. Americans don't want to live in a country where the federal government disappears people whose views it doesn't like."
"Hearing the judge's words brought tears to my eyes. I wish I could give her a heartful hug from me and from my three children who long to see their father," Maphese Saleh, Suri's wife said Wednesday.
She added, "Badar's beliefs are not a threat …as the US government is claiming. Badar is a scholar, a researcher and a lover of freedom truth and justice."
Suri was arrested March 17 by ICE agents outside of his apartment building in Virginia and charged with removability and detained, according to a complaint obtained by ABC News.
Judge Giles that month blocked Suri's deportation from the United States "unless and until the Court issues a contrary order."
The Department of Homeland Security said Suri was "actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media," according to a statement. The department alleged Suri had close connections to a "known or suspected terrorist" who is a senior adviser to Hamas.
Attorneys representing Suri said in a complaint, "This was done pursuant to a policy to retaliate against and punish noncitizens like Mr. Suri solely for their family ties to those who may have either expressed criticism of U.S. foreign policy as it relates to Israel."
Georgetown University said Suri is an Indian national who was granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention," the university said in a prior statement.
Suri is the fifth student to be ordered released on bond in the last couple of weeks — the others being Mohsen Mahdawi of Columbia University, Rumeysa Öztürk of Tufts University, Efe Ercelik of the University of Massachusetts and Mohammed Hoque of Minnesota State University-Mankato.
ABC News' Ely Brown contributed to this report.
