JAKARTA - The court in Vermont, USA, ordered that Mohsen Mahdawi, a student at Columbia University born in the West Bank who had been detained for anti-Israel protests on campus, be released on bail.
The court judge stated that there were "substantial claims" that his detention was "retaliatory to freedom of expression," The Washington Post reported.
Mahdawi has made "a substantial claim by calling his detention the result of retaliatory his free speech as a student on the Columbia campus," the newspaper wrote, citing District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford's statement at Wednesday's hearing.
Despite the court's release order, the federal case against Mahdawi, as well as the immigration process, is said to continue.
The administration of US President Donald Trump seeks to deport Mahdawi, citing a lawsuit that his criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza and previous protest activities "will have detrimental consequences of foreign policy and will jeopardize the urgent interests of US foreign policy."
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As reported by ANTARA from Sputnik-OANA, Thursday, May 1, senators and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders praised the court's decision, calling it "a major step forward in the fight against authoritarianism."
"Mohsen Mahdawi was released on bail today from his illegal detention in the hands of the Trump administration. Good. In the United States, you shouldn't end up in a prison cell for expressing your opinion," Sanders said in X.
Earlier in early April, US Immigration and Customs held Mahdawi, a 34-year-old US permanent resident, when Mahdawi was being interviewed for US citizenship.
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