- By Shibra Siddiqui
- Thu, 20 Mar 2025 09:07 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Trump administration has arrested Badar Khan Suri, an Indian researcher at Georgetown University, over his alleged links with the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas, Fox News reported. Suri is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, part of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington DC.
Suri was arrested at his home in Arlington, Virginia, by a masked agent from the Department of Homeland Security. The agent informed him that his visa had been revoked, citing it as the reason for his arrest. Suri’s lawyer claimed that he had been targeted because he had a Palestinian spouse.
Who is Badar Khan Suri
A former student of Jamia Millia Islamia, Suri is currently pursuing a postdoctorate at Georgetown University. He completed his P.hd in peace and conflict studies from Nelson Mandela Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution of Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi in 2020. As per the website of Georgetown University, Suri’s doctoral research, titled "Transitional Democracy, Divided Societies, and Prospects for Peace: A Study of State Building in Afghanistan and Iraq," studies the challenges faced by the ethically diverse societies in establishing democracy and complexities in the state-building process.
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As an interdisciplinary scholar, Suri is interested in subjects such as religion, violence, and peace, as well as ethnic conflicts and peace processes in the Middle East and South Asia.
The Assistant Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, in an X post, stated that Suri was spreading Hamas propaganda. "Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media," McLaughlin posted on X.
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According to Politico, Suri's lawyer Hassan Ahmad stated in his petition that Suri was "being punished because of his wife's Palestinian heritage and the government's suspicion that they oppose US foreign policy toward Israel.