Turkish Doctoral Student Detained by ‘Masked People’ in US

A Turkish doctoral student studying at Tufts University was detained by the US Department of Homeland Security agents on Tuesday. Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old student, had just left her home in Somerville when she was stopped, according to her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, in a petition filed in Boston Federal court against the arrest.

A video clip showing the student being handcuffed by six masked people without any explanation was obtained by AP and went viral on social media platforms. The video also showed the masked people taking away Ozturk’s phone as she screamed out of fear.

“We’re the police,” said members of the group in the video.

Before Iftar

Ozturk was about to meet her friends for Iftar, but after her disappearance, her friends became concerned. “We were unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date,” a friend of Ozturk told the media.

Her neighbours said that they were rattled by the arrest, which appeared like a kidnapping.