By Gloria Pazmino, Rebekah Riess, Dalia Faheid, CNN

Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk on Saturday arrived in her home state of Massachusetts after she was snatched by masked federal agents near her home and spent six weeks in ICE detention as part of the Trump administration’s effort to deport noncitizens who have spoken out against the war in Gaza.

She landed at Boston Logan International Airport Saturday evening, a day after US District Judge William K. Sessions III ordered her immediate release.

“America is the greatest democracy in the world, and I believe in those values that we share. I have faith in the American system of justice,” Öztürk said Saturday at a news conference at the airport. “This has been very difficult time for me, for my community, for my community at Tufts, at Turkey, but I’m so grateful for all the support, kindness, and care.”

Öztürk said she will continue to pursue her case in court as she gets back to her studies and research work.

A chilling video of Öztürk’s March 25 arrest showed a swarm of officers encircling her near her Somerville, Massachusetts home as she shrieked in fear, sparking national outrage. Her detention more than 1,500 miles away from her home – part of a series of high-profile arrests of international students who participated in pro-Palestinian activism – has triggered widespread protests and raised concerns over due process and free speech on university campuses.

Hours after the judge ordered her release, a smiling Öztürk was surrounded by a group of supporters who chanted “Rümeysa! Rümeysa!” as she walked out of the detention center Friday evening.

Dressed in a pink blouse and beige pants, Öztürk, who appeared elated, held her hands over her heart and could be heard thanking the supporters who had gathered outside the detention center holding up signs that read “Free Rumeysa. Free speech for all.”

“It’s a feeling of relief, and knowing that the case is not over, but at least she can fight the case while with her community and continuing the academic work that she loves at Tufts,” Esha Bhandari, an attorney for Öztürk, told CNN.

Öztürk’s parents said they were overjoyed by the decision. “We are very happy as a family. We hugged each other and cried tears of joy,” her mother, Tuğba Öztürk, told Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu.

Öztürk’s arrest came a year after Öztürk co-authored a campus newspaper op-ed that was critical of Tufts University’s response to the war in Gaza, and her attorneys have said that she was targeted by the administration in an attempt to chill pro-Palestinian speech in violation of her constitutional rights. The 30-year-old, originally from Turkey and on a valid F-1 student visa, was shuttled through multiple states after her arrest and suffered through a series of asthma attacks without adequate medical care, according to her attorneys.

Öztürk, who has not been charged with any crime, was accused by the Trump administration of participating in activities in support of Hamas. Neither the administration nor attorneys for the Department of Justice presented any evidence of her alleged activities in court.

Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts rallied alongside Öztürk and her lawyers at the news conference in Boston Saturday evening, calling her a symbol of the fight against violations of free speech and due process.

“It’s a victory for Rümeysa. It’s a victory for justice. It’s a victory for our democracy,” Markey said of her release. “Freedom of speech and the right of due process are not suggestions in our country. They are fundamental rights.”

“Massachusetts did not forget about you for a minute,” Pressley said, addressing Öztürk. “Your classmates and your neighbors peacefully gathered in the street, lawyers, elected officials and people of good conscience from every walk of life spoke your name daily.”

Sessions presided over the more than three-hour hearing Friday, where four witnesses – including Öztürk – testified about her community engagement work and her asthma. Sessions said Öztürk had raised “substantial claims” of both due process and First Amendment violations.

“Continued detention potentially chills the speech of the millions and millions of individuals in this country who are not citizens. Any one of them may now avoid exercising their First Amendment rights for fear of being whisked away to a detention center,” Sessions said.

Sessions noted that for multiple weeks, except for the op-ed, the government failed to produce any evidence to support Öztürk’s continued detention. “That is literally the case,” Sessions said. “There is no evidence here as to the motivation absent the consideration of the op-ed.”

Nothing in Öztürk’s co-authored op-ed from 2024 violated the university’s policies, Tufts University spokesperson Mike Rodman told CNN in a statement Saturday. “Rümeysa is a student in good standing,” the statement read.

The judge ordered her release without any travel restrictions or ICE monitoring.

“In light of the Court’s finding of no risk of flight and no danger to the community, Petitioner is to be released from ICE custody immediately on her own recognizance, without any form of Body-Worn GPS or other ICE monitoring at this time. Petitioner is not subject to any travel restrictions” Sessions wrote in Friday’s order.

Despite the judge’s decision, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement attempted to delay Öztürk’s release from the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana, her attorneys told CNN.

“Despite the 11th hour attempt to delay her freedom by trying to force her to wear an ankle monitor, Rümeysa is now free and is excited to return home, free of monitoring or restriction,” attorney Mahsa Khanbabai said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Öztürk is one of several international university students facing deportation as part of the Trump administration deportation efforts, which include a focus on pro-Palestinian protesters and activists on college campuses. The arrests of scholars and students at the hands of masked law enforcement officers, who have taken them into custody by ambushing them on city streets and near their homes, have sent a chill across the international student community.

The decision in Öztürk’s case came the same day the administration was dealt another loss after the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York denied an appeal to stay a lower court’s order to release Columbia University student and lawful permanent resident Mohsen Mahdawi. In its appeal, the Trump administration had sought to re-arrest Mahdawi while his immigration proceedings play out. The decision from the Second Circuit allows Mahdawi to remain released on bail during proceedings.

As attorneys in Öztürk’s immigration case fight her visa revocation, the habeas petition in her federal case will be argued at a May 22 proceeding in the District of Vermont. Her attorneys hope the judge “will ultimately hold that, in fact, the government cannot detain, apprehend and seek to punish people who express those political views.”

“This really is part of a bigger picture push to make sure that the rule of law still prevails,” Bhandari said.

Judge says Öztürk was ‘suffering as a result of her incarceration’

A medical expert and Öztürk, who appeared virtually at the Friday bail hearing wearing an orange uniform over a long-sleeved white shirt with a beige hijab, testified that her asthmatic episodes have increased in number and severity since the start of her detention.

Her first asthma attack while in detention happened at the Atlanta airport shortly after she was arrested, she said. At the time, Öztürk only had her emergency inhaler with her because she was on her way to break her fast during Ramadan when she was arrested. While the medical expert was testifying, Öztürk had to briefly step out because she was having an asthma attack.

As he was issuing his decision, the judge noted Öztürk is asthmatic and “suffering as a result of her incarceration … she may very well suffer additional damage to her health, that’s an extraordinary circumstance.” Sessions emphasized the need for her to be released quickly.

As part of her release conditions, he ordered her to check in with a social services group that will assist her while the case proceeds.

“The court finds that she does not pose a danger to the community, nor does she present a risk of flight,” Sessions said. “Ms. Öztürk is free to return to her home in Massachusetts.”

Sessions noted Öztürk’s detention “has been a very traumatic incident” and ordered regular check-ins with an adult restorative services provider at the Burlington Community Justice Center.

“The idea, of course, is for her to try to reintegrate into the Somerville community after what has been a very traumatic incident,” Sessions continued. “I think that this support, and also the reporting requirements, will assist in that way.”

Tufts spokesperson Rodman told CNN the university hopes she can rejoin the community as soon as possible and said she will be provided on-campus housing upon her return.

“We’re pleased that the court has approved Rümeysa’s request to be released on bail, and we look forward to welcoming her back to campus to resume her doctoral studies,” Rodman said.

Öztürk said Saturday that her advisor sent her dissertation proposal to the detention center and professors and students sent her letters of support while she was in detention. Her labmates read her books on the phone.

“In the last 45 days, I lost both my freedom and also my education during a crucial time for my doctoral studies,” she said. “I am so excited to get back to my studies, community, friends, professors and my students.”

Following the hearing, her attorney Khanbabai said in a statement she was “relieved and ecstatic that Rümeysa has been ordered released.”

“Unfortunately, it is 45 days too late. She has been imprisoned all these days for simply writing an op-ed that called for human rights and dignity for the people in Palestine,” Khanbabai said. “When did speaking up against oppression become a crime? When did speaking up against genocide become something to be imprisoned for?”

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