Statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding 'Rümeysa Öztürk'

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a written statement regarding Rumeysa Öztürk, who was taken into custody in the United States (US).

The statement said, "Developments regarding our citizen Rümeysa Öztürk have been closely followed since the first day. Our citizen is one of the symbolic names of a legal process that emerged as a result of developments in US domestic policy and concerns thousands of foreign students.

The process regarding the matter is being conducted within the framework of respect for personal rights, in line with the preferences of our citizen and her family.

On the other hand, the consular support provided to all our citizens in difficult situations abroad has been provided to Ms. Öztürk since the first day. Our Consul General in Houston has visited our citizen in the state of Louisiana several times, and our Consul General in Boston has held an online meeting with Ms. Öztürk," the statement read.

The statement, which conveyed that there are two judicial processes concerning Rumeysa Öztürk in the US, said, "Contrary to the allegations in some statements that aim to deliberately mislead the public and politicize the situation our citizen is in, there are two judicial processes concerning Ms. Öztürk. The first judicial process regarding our citizen is the immigration case ongoing in Louisiana. In the hearing held on April 16, which was followed by our Consulate General in Houston, the legality of the cancellation of our citizen's visa by US authorities is being addressed. The decision on this matter is expected to be announced on May 1. Ms. Öztürk's request to be released on bail until the aforementioned date has been rejected by the Court."

The statement, which expressed that both judicial processes will be closely followed using all the resources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that the necessary support will be provided, continued: "The second process concerns the objection to Ms. Öztürk being taken into custody.

The court in the state of Vermont, where the matter was addressed, announced its decision on April 18 following the hearing held on April 14, which was followed by our Consulate General in Boston.

The court ruled that the authority to examine the objection lies with the state of Vermont and ordered Ms. Öztürk to be transferred to Vermont by May 1. Our citizen's request for release on bail is planned to be addressed by this Court on May 9.

Both legal processes will continue to be closely followed using all the resources of our Ministry, and the necessary support will be provided," the statement concluded.

News Source: İHA