Badar Khan Suri, the Indian researcher who was detained in the US for allegedly "actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media", has argued in his petition that he was being "punished" for his wife's Palestinian heritage. Suri's wife Mapheze Saleh is a US citizen but is alleged to share ties with Hamas.
Suri, a Georgetown University student and teacher, is doing his "doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan." He was arrested on Monday night by agents of the Department of Homeland Security from his home in Arlington, Virginia.
His visa has been revoked, the lawsuit filed by Suri seeking his immediate release claimed. The petition argued that he was put in deportation proceedings under a provision of immigration law that empowers the state to deport noncitizens if the secretary determines their presence in the US would threaten foreign policy, according to Politico.
It was the same provision which the government used to try to deport Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student who led pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
However, Suri's lawyers claimed he has no criminal record and has not been charged with a crime. The petition further argues that Suri is being punished because of Saleh's Palestinian heritage and because the government suspects they oppose the US foreign policy towards Israel. Suri further argues that the couple has "long been doxxed and smeared" on anonymously run, far-right websites due to their support for Palestinian rights.
As for Saleh, she is alleged to have "ties with Hamas" and once worked for Qatar-based Al Jazeera. Though it is unclear, it is said that Saleh is the daughter of Ahmed Yousef who once served as a "senior political adviser to the Hamas leadership."
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a determination on Saturday that Suri’s visa should be cancelled for foreign policy reasons. "Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media," McLaughlin wrote on X. “Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”
At present, Suri is at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement “staging” centre at the Alexandria, Louisiana, airport. It is unclear when he will deported to India.
Suri is a postdoctoral fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, a part of the university’s School of Foreign Service. He also completed his PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from Nelson Mandela Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi in 2020.