(NEW YORK)—PEN America today denounced the ongoing detention of Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk, who has been held for five weeks in a Louisiana prison in violation of her constitutional rights to due process and free speech. On Monday, the free expression group joined an amicus brief supporting her release, led by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
On March 25, Öztürk was surrounded by plain clothes law enforcement agents, removed from a street in Somerset, MA, arrested, and taken to a LA immigration detention facility where she has been held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“This is a clear-cut case of blatant disregard for basic human rights, due process, and the First Amendment.” said Eileen Hershenov, chief legal officer of PEN America. “With Öztürk’s arrest, detention and treatment, the federal government is showing how it is operating outside of a democratic system. That is a hallmark of authoritarian societies and violates guarantees of freedom of expression, which the United States stands for as a nation. This cannot stand.”
The amicus brief states that it is “unthinkable” that an individual could be snatched from the street, imprisoned and threatened with deportation for expressing an opinion, as Öztürk did in the oped she wrote on the question of Palestinian rights in the Tufts University student newspaper. Öztürk’s lawyers say her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process.
The FIRE brief was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court of Vermont. PEN America was among several free speech and human and civil rights groups that joined the brief.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], (201) 247-5057