Georgetown Prof Accused Of ‘Spreading Hamas Propaganda’ Upset After ICE Detention

Georgetown University professor Badar Khan Suri spoke about his experience being detained by ICE at a town hall in Washington D.C. on Tuesday evening.

Suri was detained by non-uniformed ICE agents on March 17 while returning home. He was arrested without being shown a warrant, not told what he was being charged with, and not allowed to contact his family or lawyer for several days. 

“Use this or do it in your trousers. We will not open anything,” Suri quotes ICE agents responding to his request to use the bathroom while being transported to a detention center in Texas. ICE agents took him to a bathroom without water, towels, or tissues, and did not open the door when requested.

An Indian national on a student visa, Suri had been teaching a course on minority rights in South Asia at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University,

For use of a phone, ICE required “an ID there, which they will not give me, until I get to Texas,” Suri said.

“There was an optional free call for 20 seconds, I was calling my wife again and again, and I was able to hear her but later she told me she never heard my voice,” Suri added.

Suri claims he lost around 16 pounds while in detention and was subject to “extreme malnutrition.” He was fed meals of bread slices, cheese, and apples, with chicken once per week. These meals were counted by the calorie to ensure the inmates maintained their weights, but due to the high content of processed ingredients, Suri’s blood cholesterol was raised and his health declined rapidly. 

Upon requesting a healthier diet, Suri’s white bread slices were replaced with whole grain bread slices.

Assistant Secretary of the Dept. of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, claimed Suri was “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” and arrested for “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.” 

Judge Patricia Giles of the Eastern District of Virginia ordered Suri’s release on May 19 after she found the Trump administration had failed to provide evidence of Suri’s threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.

Suri’s alleged connection to Hamas comes through his wife, an American citizen of Palestinian origin. Her father, Ahmed Yousef, once advised Ismail Haniyeh, a now-deceased leader of Hamas who was killed in an Israeli airstrike inTehran in July 2024. Yousef has since been vocal in his criticisms of Hamas, slamming the Oct. 7 terrorist attack as a tragedy and a mistake.

Suri’s lawyers are currently contesting his removability and expect they will have to appeal a loss in court. Even if they win, they expect the Trump administration to appeal. 

Suri maintains hope, stating “I still believe this country has rule of law – it was taken from me for some time – and because of that rule of law, because of that due process which exists, I was brought back to my community, my people. Most Americans stood by me.”