U.S. District Judge William Sessions in Burlington released Rumeysa Ozturk pending a final decision on her claim that she’s been illegally detained.
In his decision, Sessions, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, appeared to show great personal sympathy for Ozturk.
“This is a woman who is just totally committed to her academic career,” Sessions said. “This is someone who probably doesn't have a whole lot of other things going on other than reaching out to other members of the community in a caring and compassionate way."
At her Friday bail hearing, Ozturk detailed her growing asthma attacks in detention and her desire to finish her doctorate degree focusing on children and social media.
A State Department memo said Ozturk’s visa was revoked following an assessment that her actions ”‘may undermine U.S. foreign policy by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and indicating support for a designated terrorist organization’ including co-authoring an op-ed that found common cause with an organization that was later temporarily banned from campus.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in March that investigations found that Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group.
