Latest news with #ProPalestinian
ABC News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
US judge orders release of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil
Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has been released from federal immigration detention following a US judge's order on Friday. The former Columbia University graduate student, who left a federal facility in Louisiana, is expected to head to New York to reunite with his US citizen wife and newborn son. This marks a major victory for rights groups that challenged what they called the Trump administration's unlawful targeting of a pro-Palestinian activist. Mr Khalil, a prominent figure in protests against Israel's war on Gaza, was arrested by immigration agents in the lobby of his university residence in Manhattan on March 8. US President Donald Trump has called the protests antisemitic and vowed to deport foreign students who took part. After hearing oral arguments from lawyers for Mr Khalil and for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), US District Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey ordered DHS to release him from custody at a jail for immigrants in rural Louisiana immediately. Judge Farbiarz said the government had made no attempt to rebut evidence provided by Mr Khalil's lawyers that he was not a flight risk nor a danger to the public. "There is at least something to the underlying claim that there is an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish the petitioner [Khalil]," Judge Farbiarz said as he ruled from the bench, adding that punishing someone over a civil immigration matter was unconstitutional. The Trump administration has argued that non-citizens who participate in such demonstrations should be deported, as it considers their views antisemitic. Protesters and civil rights groups say the administration is conflating antisemitism with criticism of Israel to silence dissent. The US government filed notice on Friday evening to appeal Mr Khalil's release. Mr Khalil said that no one should be detained for protesting Israel's war in Gaza. He said his time in the detention facility in Louisiana had shown him "a different reality about this country that supposedly champions human rights and justice". "No human is illegal," he said when a reporter asked what message he would like to send the public. Mr Khalil has to surrender his passport and cannot travel internationally. However, he will regain his green card and be issued official documents permitting limited travel within the country, including to New York and Michigan to visit family, New Jersey and Louisiana for court appearances, and Washington to lobby Congress. The Syrian-born activist was the latest in a string of foreign pro-Palestinian students arrested in the US starting in March who have subsequently been released by a judge. He was the first person arrested under Mr Trump's crackdown on students who joined campus protests against Israel's devastating war in Gaza. The judge's decision comes after several other scholars targeted for their activism have been released from custody, including another former Palestinian student at Columbia — Mohsen Mahdawi, a Tufts University student — Rumeysa Ozturk, and a Georgetown University scholar — Badar Khan Suri. Even though a federal judge ordered Mr Khalil to be freed, the immigration proceedings against him continue. The Louisiana immigration judge in his case on Friday denied his asylum request, ruled he could be deported based on the government's allegations of immigration fraud, and denied a bail hearing. Judge Farbiarz's decision rendered the bail request moot. Like others facing deportation, Mr Khalil has avenues to appeal within the immigration system. Judge Farbiarz is also considering Mr Khalil's challenge of his deportation on constitutional grounds, and has blocked officials from deporting Mr Khalil while that challenge plays out. On June 13, the judge declined to order Mr Khalil's release from a detention centre in Louisiana, after Trump's administration said he was being held on a separate charge that he withheld information from his application for lawful permanent residency. Mr Khalil's lawyers denied that allegation and said people were rarely detained on such charges. On June 16, the lawyers urged Judge Farbiarz to grant a separate request from their client to be released on bail or be transferred to immigration detention in New Jersey to be closer to his family in New York. ABC/Reuters/AP
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil released after months in detention
Pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil was released from detention Friday evening, ending more than three months of custody in a test of the executive branch's power to unilaterally act against legal U.S. residents. Khalil, whose plight has been center stage in President Donald Trump's crackdown on vocal opponents of Israel's incursion into Gaza, had been in immigration agents' custody since March. He was released from a detention center in Louisiana just after 6:30 p.m. Friday, hours after a federal judge ordered that he be freed. "Although justice prevailed," he said upon his release, "it's long, very long overdue. And this shouldn't have taken three months." He said he was traveling back to New York and couldn't wait to reunite with his wife and infant son, who was born while Khalil was in custody. "Trump and his administration, they chose the wrong person for this," said Khalil, who was a key figure in 2024 Columbia campus protests against the war in Gaza. "That doesn't mean that there is a right person for this. There's no right person who should be detained for actually protesting a genocide, for protesting their University, Columbia University." In an earlier statement, his wife, Noor Abdalla, said she 'can finally breathe a sigh of relief and know that Mahmoud is on his way home to me and Deen, who never should have been separated from his father." 'We know this ruling does not begin to address the injustices the Trump administration has brought upon our family, and so many others the government is trying to silence for speaking out against Israel's ongoing genocide against Palestinians," she said in the statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union. Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin lashed out at "rogue" U.S. District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz, saying he had no authority to order Khalil's release. "This is yet another example of how out of control members of the judicial branch are undermining national security," McLaughlin said. "Their conduct not only denies the result of the 2024 election, it also does great harm to our constitutional system by undermining public confidence in the courts." Government attorney Dhruman Sampat had argued that Congress has given the executive branch sweeping powers to determine who could be removed from the county. The courts should not have the authority to interfere, Sampat said. 'I don't think any of that is right,' Farbiarz said during the remote hearing. He added that there's 'very strong and uncontested record' that Khalil is not a flight risk and that he poses no danger to the public. 'I'm going to exercise the discretion that I have to order the release of the petitioner in this case," said Farbiarz, who is based in New Jersey. Farbiarz declined a government request to stay his order for seven days to give the government more time to fight it. Magistrate Judge Michael Hammer said Khalil will have to "surrender his passport and any other travel documents" as a condition of his release. Hammer also ordered Khalil to limit his travel to New York, where he lives; Michigan, where he has family; New Jersey, where Farbiarz is based; Louisiana, the location of his immigration case; and Washington, D.C., for congressional visits and lobbying efforts. Khalil, who has a green card, is married to a U.S. citizen and has no criminal record. He has not been charged with any crime. "No one should fear being jailed for speaking out in this country,' said Khalil's attorney Alina Das, a co-director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at New York University School of Law. 'We are overjoyed that Mr. Khalil will finally be reunited with his family while we continue to fight his case in court.' McLaughlin, the DHS representative, said the government will continue to litigate the matter. 'It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America," she said. "The Trump Administration acted well within its statutory and constitutional authority to detain Khalil, as it does with any alien who advocates for violence, glorifies and supports terrorists, harasses Jews, and damages property." Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cited an obscure provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to justify Khalil's removal, arguing he poses a national security risk. The Cold War-era statute gives the secretary of state authority to 'personally determine' whether Khalil should remain in the country, the administration has argued. But Khalil's backers have insisted that the government's actions are meant to stifle free speech on college campuses and silence opponents of Israel's ongoing military action in Gaza. Israeli forces rolled into Gaza shortly after Hamas invaded the country on Oct. 7, 2023, in a terrorist attack that killed about 1,200 people. It has been estimated that Hamas terrorists took 251 hostages. More than 55,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its war against Hamas. This article was originally published on
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Watch: Pro-Palestinian activists damage planes at UK military base
Pro-Palestinian activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in central England, damaging and spraying red paint over two planes used for refuelling and transport. Palestine Action said two members had entered the Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire on Friday (local time), putting paint into the engines of the Voyager aircraft and further damaging them with crowbars. "Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets," the group said in a statement, posting a video of the incident on X. "Britain isn't just complicit, it's an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East." UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the "vandalism" as "disgraceful" in a post on X. The act of vandalism committed at RAF Brize Norton is disgraceful. Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us. Anti-terrorism police officers took over the investigation and British media reported that Britain's interior minister, Yvette Cooper, planned to use anti-terrorism laws to ban Palestine Action as an organisation. A Home Office spokesperson declined to comment on the reports. A spokesperson for Starmer said the government was reviewing security across all British defence sites. Palestine Action is among groups that have regularly targeted defence firms and other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza. The group said it had also sprayed paint on the runway and left a Palestine flag there. The Gaza war was triggered when Hamas-led Palestinian militants attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies. US ally Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, displaced almost all the territory's residents and caused a severe hunger crisis. The assault has led to accusations of genocide and war crimes, which Israel denies. - Reuters
ABC News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Pro-Palestinian activists damage planes at UK military base
Pro-Palestinian activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in central England, damaging and spraying red paint over two planes used for refuelling and transport. Palestine Action said two members had entered the Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire on Friday, local time, putting paint into the engines of the Voyager aircraft and further damaging them with crowbars. Aerial footage showed red paint marks on the aircraft and police officers nearby. "Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets," the group said in a statement, posting a video of the incident on X. Britain's Ministry of Defence confirmed the incident, and said it "strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets". Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the vandalism "disgraceful" in a post on X. The government said two planes were being checked for damage, and that the vandalism had not stopped any planned aircraft movements or operations. "A full security review is underway at Brize Norton," Mr Starmer's office said. "We are reviewing security across the whole defence estate." British defence minister John Healey ordered an investigation and a review of wider security at the country's military bases. "The vandalism of RAF planes is totally unacceptable," Mr Healey said on X. "I am really disturbed that this happened and have ordered an investigation and a review of wider security at our bases." Palestine Action is among groups that have regularly targeted defence firms and other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza. The group said it had also sprayed paint on the runway and left a Palestine flag there. The Gaza war was triggered when Hamas-led Palestinian militants attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies. Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed more than 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, displaced almost all of the territory's residents and caused a severe hunger crisis. The assault has led to accusations of genocide and war crimes, which Israel denies. Reuters
LBCI
16 hours ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Pro-Palestinian activists say they damaged planes at UK military base
Pro-Palestinian activists in Britain said they had broken into a Royal Air Force base in central England on Friday and damaged two military aircraft. The campaign group Palestine Action said that its activists had entered the Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire and escaped undetected. "Flights depart daily from the base to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus," the group said on X accompanied by video footage. "From Cyprus, British planes collect intelligence, refuel fighter jets and transport weapons to commit genocide in Gaza." There was no immediate response from Britain's Ministry of Defense. Reuters
