Sanders Slams US Authorities Over Arrest of Turkish Student

US Sen. Bernie Sanders has criticized the arrest of a Turkish PhD student, describing it as part of President Donald Trump’s “authoritarian crackdown” on dissent.

Rumeysa Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar, was taken into custody late Tuesday by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) near her home in Somerville, Massachusetts, while on her way to an iftar dinner, her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, said.

A video circulating online shows masked ICE agents handcuffing Ozturk and seizing her phone. Her detention follows a series of Trump administration actions against pro-Palestinian academics and activists.

“Why? Because she wrote an op-ed critical of Israel’s war against the Palestinian people,” Sanders posted on X, calling for action against what he described as Trump’s “political persecution of dissidents.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Thursday that Ozturk’s student visa had been revoked, saying visas are not intended for “social activism” that disrupts university campuses. However, he did not provide evidence linking her to any unlawful activity.

Supporters argue that Ozturk was targeted after the pro-Israel website Canary Mission flagged a 2014 op-ed she co-authored criticizing Israel.