Mohsen Mahdawi, a US permanent resident from Palestine, has called US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s attempts to justify his arrest over his activism “laughable”.
Mr Rubio has said that Mr Mahdawi was “removable” under the Immigration and Nationality Act and that his actions could have “serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise compelling US foreign policy interest”.
“A person who has been vocally advocating for justice and peace is undermining US policy?” Mr Mahdawi asked rhetorically during an interview with CBS News, his first one on-camera since he was released last week as his case continues.
In mid-April, authorities in Vermont arrested Mr Mahdawi, a Columbia University student who helped organise campus protests in support of Palestine, after he arrived at an immigration office to complete the final step before becoming a US citizen.
In addition to his comments on Mr Rubio, he also did not hesitate to criticise President Donald Trump's administration for its aggressive pursuit of student demonstrators organising protests in support of Palestinians and Gaza.
“I am not afraid of you,” he said. “There’s a philosophy of intimidation, of punitive justice. I wanted to share with them that you can do whatever you want, but you will not silence me.”
Mr Mahdawi said his release after 16 days of detention offers a ray of hope in a US justice system that he describes as under assault from the Trump White House.
His interview came days after judge in Vermont ordered his release.
“The two weeks of detention so far demonstrate great harm to a person who has been charged with no crime,” US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford said at the hearing.
The judge added that he should remain in his home state of Vermont and attend Columbia, which is in New York, remotely, but added that he can travel to meet his legal team and go to the university when necessary.
Mr Mahdawi is a legal US resident and has lived in the US since 2014.
Making the arrest all the more curious was the fact he had walked into a federal office in Vermont for an immigration interview before being detained by plainclothes agents.
“Masked agents, loaded with guns, separated me and isolated me from my lawyer. They did not allow for any conversation or let me see the order, or what was happening. I said that I am a peaceful man,” he said.
The State Department did not directly answer requests from The National to address comments from Mr Mahdawhi, explaining that as a general matter, "we do not comment on pending or ongoing litigation."
Outside the courthouse following his release, Mr Mahdawhi led supporters in chanting “The people, united, will never be defeated” and “Free Palestine”. He said people must come together in the defence of both democracy and humanity.
As a student, Mr Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and organised campus protests until March 2024. He cofounded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the US who was detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Mr Mahdawi could still be deported depending on how things unfold in court, with US authorities appealing the Vermont judge’s decision.
He plans on starting his master’s degree at Columbia beginning in the autumn.
Mr Mahdawi’s detention and potential removal from the US is among many similar incidents that have taken place since US Mr Trump took office in January.
In March, Mr Rubio said that the US had revoked at least 300 visas, many to foreign students, as it cracks down on people who participated in protests against the war in Gaza.
The US State Department will reportedly soon be using artificial intelligence to potentially revoke the visas of international students accused of supporting Hamas – an idea that many legal experts say could be problematic from a due process standpoint. Tech experts have also pointed out that AI is far from perfect, and often misses nuances involved in politics, demonstrations and protests.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The years Ramadan fell in May
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The years Ramadan fell in May
The years Ramadan fell in May
More on animal trafficking
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on animal trafficking
More on Quran memorisation:
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204-cylinder%202.0L%20TSI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20clutch%207-speed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320HP%20%2F%20235kW%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20400Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20%2449%2C709%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More on Quran memorisation:
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Points Classification after Stage 1
1. Geraint Thomas (Britain / Team Sky) 20
2. Stefan Kueng (Switzerland / BMC Racing) 17
3. Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus / Team Sky) 15
4. Tony Martin (Germany / Katusha) 13
5. Matteo Trentin (Italy / Quick-Step) 11
6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 10
7. Jos van Emden (Netherlands / LottoNL) 9
8. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland / Team Sky) 8
9. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 7
10. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway / Dimension Data) 6
The five pillars of Islam
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
More coverage from the Future Forum
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
More from Aya Iskandarani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Super%20Mario%20Bros%20Wonder
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20EPD%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20Switch%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ronaldo's record at Man Utd
Seasons 2003/04 - 2008/09
Appearances 230
Goals 115
