By Gloria Pazmino, Rebekah Riess, CNN

Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk has been released – following a federal judge’s order in Vermont - from a Louisiana detention center where she has spent the last six weeks after being snatched by masked plainclothes officers in broad daylight near her Massachusetts home in March, according to her attorney Esha Bhandari.

Hours after US District Judge William K. Sessions III ordered her immediate release, a smiling Öztürk was surrounded by a group of supporters with signs who chanted “Rümeysa! Rümeysa!” as she walked out of the detention center Friday evening. Dressed in a pink blouse and beige pants, Öztürk appeared elated as she was freed with her attorneys by her side.

“It’s been a very long day. She is finally free,” one of the attorneys said as Öztürk thanked her supporters.

A chilling video of Öztürk’s March 25 arrest showed a swarm of officers encircling her near her Somerville, Massachusetts home as she shrieked in fear, sparking national outrage. Her detention more than 1,500 miles away from her home – part of a series of high-profile arrests of international students who participated in pro-Palestinian activism – has triggered widespread protests and raised concerns over due process and free speech on university campuses.

Her arrest came a year after Öztürk co-authored a campus newspaper op-ed that was critical of Tufts University’s response to the war in Gaza, and her attorneys have said that she was targeted by the administration in an attempt to chill pro-Palestinian speech in violation of her constitutional rights. The 30-year-old, originally from Turkey and on a valid F-1 student visa, was shuttled through multiple states after her arrest and suffered through a series of asthma attacks without adequate medical care, according to her attorneys.

Öztürk, who has not been charged with any crime, was accused by the Trump administration of participating in activities in support of Hamas. Neither the administration nor attorneys for the Department of Justice presented any evidence of her alleged activities in court.

Sessions presided over the more than three-hour hearing, where four witnesses – including Öztürk – testified about her community engagement work and her asthma. Sessions said Öztürk had raised “substantial claims” of both due process and First Amendment violations.

“Continued detention potentially chills the speech of the millions and millions of individuals in this country who are not citizens. Any one of them may now avoid exercising their First Amendment rights for fear of being whisked away to a detention center,” Sessions said.

Sessions noted that for multiple weeks, except for the op-ed, the government failed to produce any evidence to support Öztürk’s continued detention. “That is literally the case,” Sessions said. “There is no evidence here as to the motivation absent the consideration of the op-ed.”

Öztürk is one of several international university students facing deportation as part of the Trump administration deportation efforts, which include a focus on pro-Palestinian protesters and activists on college campuses. The arrests of scholars and students at the hands of masked law enforcement officers, who have taken them into custody by ambushing them on city streets and near their homes, have sent a chill across the international student community.

The decision in Öztürk’s case came the same day the administration was dealt another loss after the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York denied an appeal to stay a lower court’s order to release Columbia University student and lawful permanent resident Mohsen Mahdawi. In its appeal, the Trump administration had sought to re-arrest Mahdawi while his immigration proceedings play out. The decision from the Second Circuit allows Mahdawi to remain released on bail during proceedings.

Judge says Öztürk was ‘suffering as a result of her incarceration’

A medical expert and Öztürk, who appeared virtually at the Friday bail hearing wearing an orange uniform over a long-sleeved white shirt with a beige hijab, testified that her asthmatic episodes have increased in number and severity since the start of her detention. Her first asthma attack while in detention happened at the Atlanta airport shortly after she was arrested, she said. At the time, Öztürk only had her emergency inhaler with her because she was on her way to break her fast during Ramadan when she was arrested. While the medical expert was testifying, Öztürk had to briefly step out because she was having an asthma attack.

As he was issuing his decision, the judge noted Öztürk is asthmatic and “suffering as a result of her incarceration … she may very well suffer additional damage to her health, that’s an extraordinary circumstance.” Sessions emphasized the need for her to be released quickly.

Sessions released Öztürk on her own recognizance but with some supervision requirements.

“The court finds that she does not pose a danger to the community, nor does she present a risk of flight,” Sessions said, declining to place any travel restrictions on her release. “Ms. Öztürk is free to return to her home in Massachusetts.”

Sessions noted Öztürk’s detention “has been a very traumatic incident” and ordered regular check ins with Becky Penberthy, the adult restorative services manager at the Burlington Community Justice Center.

“The idea, of course, is for her to try to reintegrate into the Somerville community after what has been a very traumatic incident,” Sessions continued. “I think that this support, and also the reporting requirements, will assist in that way.”

Following the hearing, her attorney Mahsa Khanbabai said in a statement she was “relieved and ecstatic that Rümeysa has been ordered released.”

“Unfortunately, it is 45 days too late. She has been imprisoned all these days for simply writing an op-ed that called for human rights and dignity for the people in Palestine,” Khanbabai said. “When did speaking up against oppression become a crime? When did speaking up against genocide become something to be imprisoned for?”

“I am thankful that the courts have been ruling in favor of detained political prisoners like Rümeysa. The public plays an important role in upholding our constitutional rights. Please continue to speak up for democracy and civil rights in every space including our elected offices, our universities, and our halls of justice,” the attorney added.

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