Indian Scholar Badar Khan Suri Detained in US on Charges of Having Hamas Links

Washington, D.C. – The Trump administration has detained Indian scholar Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, on charges of propagating Hamas propaganda. Suri, who was living in Arlington, Virginia, was detained by a masked officer from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after his visa was cancelled.

Badar Khan Suri has been associated with the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement Hamas, which resulted in his arrest, Fox News reports. The DHS Assistant Secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, accused Suri of actively spreading Hamas propaganda and antisemitism on social media in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Suri, a Jamia Millia Islamia alumnus in India, received his Ph.D. in peace and conflict studies at the Nelson Mandela Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution in New Delhi in 2020. His research interests at Georgetown University are state-building dilemmas in ethically heterogeneous societies, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq.

His attorney, Hassan Ahmad, vigorously has objected to the arrest on the grounds that Suri is unfairly targeted for his wife’s Palestinian background and supposed opposition to U.S. foreign policy with Israel. “He is being punished for his academic work and personal associations,” Ahmad wrote in his petition, according to Politico.

The arrest has sparked concerns among academic and civil rights groups, with several organizations calling for a fair review of the case. However, the DHS has maintained that Suri’s activities on social media and his alleged links to Hamas warranted the revocation of his visa and subsequent arrest.

Badar Khan Suri’s future in the United States remains uncertain as legal proceedings continue. His supporters argue that his arrest is politically motivated, while U.S. officials assert that national security concerns justify the actions taken against him.