Badar Khan Suri, a study professor from India, was detained earlier this week by the Trump administration, and a federal prosecutor on Thursday ordered US emigration officers to stop deporting him. His legal team is arguing for his quick release because of his intellectual performance and beliefs, as opposed to any actual crime, in his defense.
According to US district judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Virginia’s Alexandria,” Badar Khan Suri may not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court concerns a contrary get.”
Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, was detained on Monday evening outside his Virginia house. According to Politico, “masked agencies” took him into prison, and he is “expected to be transferred immediately to a confinement center in Texas.”
Hassan Ahmad, his attorney, claims that the state has hardly provided any evidence of criminal activity. In a court filing, Ahmad claimed that” Dr. Suri is an educational, hardly an activist.” He did, however, publish a statement on social media about his opinions on the Israel-Gaza conflict. His family is a vocal critic of the Israeli authorities and the murder it has used against Palestinians, even more so.
Also read:What is Indian-origin Badar Khan Suri’s alleged connection to Hamas? Here’s what we know
Suri does not have a criminal record and is a resident of India on a true visa. His partner, Mapheze Saleh, is a member of the US. According to Ahmad, Suri is being targeted by the federal “because his wife, who is a US citizen, and because the government believes he and his wife oppose US international policy toward Israel.”
In the complaint, Ahmad wrote,” The Trump Administration has explicitly stated its intention to destroy emigration law to condemn noncitizens whose views are deemed objectionable to US policy in relation to Israel.”
Suri is alleged to have” close links to a known or suspected criminal, who is a senior consultant to Hamas,” according to US authorities. Suri was “actively spreading Hamas advertising and promoting hatred on social media,” according to a representative from the department of homeland security. On March 15, 2025, the Secretary of State determined that” Suri’s activities and reputation in the United States rendered him deportable.”
Also read:‘Badar Luck’: Indian scholar faces deportation over Hamas links
Political US Representative Don Beyer, who represents the region where Suri was detained, on Thursday criticized the professor’s detention as immoral and urged the judge to examine his situation.
Beyer remarked,” The explanation for these violations of Mr. Suri’s straight to a fair trial is another constitutional infraction. It is blatantly attacking the First Amendment.” The most recent subjects of President Trump’s assault on free speech are Mr. Suri and his relatives.
Ahamed Yousef, Suri’s family Saleh’s father, was again a deputy foreign secretary in the Hamas government in Gaza, according to a Politico article. Suri, who was quoted by the post, claimed that Suri had left the Hamas authorities after its five-year name had expired and there had not been any new elections.
Saleh was born in Missouri, US, but after the age of 5, she spent the majority of her existence in Gaza.
This tragedy comes after another current event in which American student Ranjani Srinivasan leaves the country after her immigration was revoked. She was accused of supporting Hamas and “advocating for murder and terrorism” by regulators.
Suri’s legitimate group has filed a petition demanding his release. The officials claimed to have worked for the department of homeland security and that the government had revoked his visa, according to the complaint. Ahmad claims that he has not already had contact with Suri. We’re attempting to speak with him. He claimed that that hasn’t yet occurred. ” This is yet another instance of our government imprisoning people in the same way that Khalil abducted them,” the statement continues.
Suri is a professor who specializes in studying peace and conflict. He received his PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, with an emphasis on state-building in post-conflict regions like Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to his Georgetown University page, his research examines “potential factors that prevent cooperation among religiously different societies and ways to overcome those obstacles.”
According to a Georgetown spokesperson,” Suri is an American federal who was formally granted a card to enter the United States to maintain his postgraduate research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan. We haven’t heard from him about any improper action, and we don’t know why he’s been detained. Even if the main ideas may be challenging, provocative, or disagreeable, we support our community members ‘ right to free and open discussion, discussion, and debate. We anticipate that the lawful system will properly decide this situation.
