Around 9:30 p.m. March 17, Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown University postdoctoral researcher, returned home from the university after teaching and attending iftar, the meal Muslims eat after a day of fasting, on campus. Just minutes later, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detained Khan Suri. As of March 27, he is in a detention facility in Alvarado, Texas.

Khan Suri, a senior fellow at Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU), was researching a project exploring peace processes amid religious tension and taught an upper-level undergraduate seminar called “Majoritarianism and Minority Rights in South Asia.” 

He held a J-1 visa, a non-immigrant visa for foreign nationals to participate in educational programs. The State Department revoked Khan Suri’s visa on March 15, over alleged connections to Hamas leadership and for allegedly posting “Hamas propaganda” on social platform X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.

Khan Suri and his wife, Mapheze Saleh (GRD ’26), who is a U.S. citizen born in Gaza, have spoken out against Israel’s conduct in the latest Israel-Hamas war but have not encouraged illegal activity. Khan Suri’s father-in-law previously served as an official in Gaza’s Hamas-run government, yet left his position more than a decade ago and publicly condemned Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. 

A student in Khan Suri’s class said Khan Suri’s detainment does not reflect the kindness they saw from him in class.

“As a student of his, I can say that the accusations being leveled against Professor Suri are genuinely dumbfounding — the baselessness of the case would be amusing if it wasn’t for the real-life implications we’re watching play out for him and his family,” the student wrote to The Hoya. “He’s one of the most soft-spoken people I’ve met. He’s brilliant yet humble and has a wonderful sense of humor.”

“The fact that this could even happen is a terrifying indication of the state of free speech and human rights in this country — and it’s heartbreaking to know that whether Professor Suri remains in this country or is deported back to India, he is not truly safe,” the student added. 

The night of March 17, three masked agents, who later identified themselves as agents from the DHS, detained Khan Suri, handcuffing him outside his apartment. DHS agents surrounded him, prohibiting his wife from giving him his passport and visa documents.

According to court filings, DHS first detained Khan Suri in Virginia, where he called his wife to tell her he had been detained and would have a hearing in Los Fresnos, Texas, on May 6. Less than 24 hours later, Khan Suri again called Saleh, saying he had been moved to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Alexandria, La.

After Khan Suri’s attorneys, including lawyers from the Virginia chapter of the legal nonprofit American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), filed a petition, U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ordered ICE to keep Khan Suri in the United States until further notice, preventing his deportation while the case continues. Two days later, ICE moved Khan Suri to Texas.

Another student in Khan Suri’s class said the detention has deeply impacted their classmates.

“These seven classes have made me realize he’s genuinely a good and knowledgeable person and would never ever hurt anyone,” the student wrote to The Hoya. “We’re all praying he returns home to his wife and children immediately as this is a shattering situation to be a part of for all of us.”

Khan Suri’s detention has led to an outcry on Georgetown’s campus, especially from pro-Palestinian groups.

Georgetown Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP), an organization of Georgetown employees who support Palestinian self-determination, said in a March 21 Instagram post that Khan Suri’s detention should alarm the entire university community.

“Dr. Badar Khan Suri’s abduction and detention demands a response from all his colleagues in academia and all people of conscience,” FSJP wrote in the post. “We must resist the advancing violations of human and constitutional rights across our country.”

FSJP, which created a petition calling for Khan Suri’s release that has reached 1,600 signatures, held a walkout in support of Khan Suri on March 25, gathering in Red Square to show solidarity with Khan Suri and to protest repression of free speech. 

The Georgetown Chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a student organization supporting Palestinian liberation, said in a March 22 statement that Khan Suri’s detention reflects the larger silencing of pro-Palestinian advocacy.

“The series of abductions, forced disappearances and deportations of community members — most recently at Georgetown — is the U.S. government’s latest attempt to crush dissent to its perpetration of the genocide in Palestine,” SJP wrote in the statement. “The state is abducting people purely on the basis that they oppose genocide.”

Khan Suri publicly opposed Israeli military action in Gaza in multiple social media posts, accusing Israel of targeting Palestinian citizens to drive them out of Gaza.

“Israel is bombing hospitals in Gaza to turn the land inhabitable, in order to build the case for making Palestinians in Gaza think of migrating to the Sinai desert,” Khan Suri wrote on X on Oct. 19, 2023. “Because tens of thousands of Palestinians would need these services which won’t exist. This is mockery of Intl law.”

Outside class and the ACMCU, Khan Suri was part of Georgetown’s Muslim community, attending prayers, community dinners and iftars.

Georgetown’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) said in a March 21 statement that the detention of Khan Suri is hypocritical.

“His work in peacebuilding and conflict resolution embodies a dedication to the pursuit of truth,” MSA wrote. “The fact that he now sits behind bars — separated from his family and community — exemplifies the lengths to which oppressive forces will go to silence voices of integrity and conscience.”

The first student who wrote to The Hoya said the government’s detention of Khan Suri violates U.S. values and has left students in fear.

“The irony of his being abused and stripped of his rights by the world’s largest ‘democracies’ is a cruel one, and to be honest, it makes me afraid,” the student wrote. “I think we’re all left with this unnerving, quiet yet heavy sense of terror as to what could possibly happen next. For now, I’m just trying to focus on praying for him and his family, and that true justice is actually served.”