A Turkish doctoral student detained by US immigration authorities following her pro-Palestinian activism has returned to Türkiye, a rights group has said.
“After 13 years of dedicated study, I am very proud to have completed my PhD and to return home on my own timeline,” Rumeysa Ozturk said in a statement released on Friday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Ozturk, a student at Tufts University near Boston, was detained by federal agents in March 2025 and held in Louisiana for six weeks.
Footage of six masked agents whisking away Ozturk off the street as she went to break her Ramadan fast with friends sparked an outcry.
She had co-authored a March 2024 article in The Tufts Daily student newspaper criticising the college’s handling of student anger around Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Ozturk’s arrest drew condemnation from elected officials and others in the US.
Critics accused authorities of targeting students over their political views without due process, calling it a breach of civil liberties. The case also triggered protests at Tufts University and across Massachusetts.
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