Fri Mar 21 11:39:40 UTC 2025: ## Georgetown Professor Detained, Wife Claims Retaliation for Palestinian Roots

**Washington, D.C. –** Badar Khan Suri, a post-doctoral fellow at Georgetown University, was arrested on March 17th outside his Virginia home by Homeland Security agents and faces deportation. His wife, Mapheze Saleh, an American citizen of Palestinian descent, alleges his arrest is retaliatory, stemming from her family’s connection to Hamas and her outspoken advocacy for Palestinians on social media.

Suri, an Indian national, and Saleh met and married in Delhi in 2014, after a planned Gaza wedding was thwarted by unrest in Egypt. The couple relocated to the US in 2022-23, drawn by its reputation for free speech. However, the renewed Middle East conflict and the return of Donald Trump to power have drastically altered their situation.

According to authorities, Suri is accused of spreading Hamas propaganda and maintaining contact with a suspected terrorist, a claim vehemently denied by Suri, his wife, and Georgetown University. The university issued a statement asserting unawareness of any illegal activity on Suri’s part and expressing support for academic freedom.

Saleh’s father, Ahmed Yousef, a former senior political advisor to Hamas, has publicly denounced Suri’s arrest as an “abduction,” echoing similar complaints about the treatment of other Palestinian activists. While the US government hasn’t explicitly linked Saleh or her father to Suri’s detention, a senior Homeland Security official criticized media downplaying Yousef’s Hamas ties.

Suri’s lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, argues the arrest is politically motivated, targeting the couple for their perceived opposition to US foreign policy towards Israel. He points to the recent crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism on US campuses, intensified under the Trump administration, which has threatened funding cuts and deportation for those involved in protests deemed supportive of Hamas. A court has temporarily blocked Suri’s deportation. Saleh has filed an emergency motion with the ACLU seeking her husband’s release. The case highlights the escalating tensions surrounding Palestinian advocacy in the US under the current political climate.

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