Doctoral student suddenly finds himself in prison Trump officials storm his apartment at 3 a.m.
Yet another student has been arrested in the USA. Iranian mechanical engineering student Alireza Doroudi, who is studying for a PhD at the University of Alabama, has been detained by US immigration authorities ICE.
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- Alireza Doroudi was arrested for alleged national security concerns in Alabama.
- His lawyer emphasizes that there is no evidence of criminal charges or protest activities.
- The case is one in a series of arrests of foreign students in the USA.
As reported by several US media outlets, Iranian mechanical engineering doctoral student Alireza Doroudi was arrested by the US immigration authorities ICE. According to his lawyer David Rozas, the incident took place in the early hours of March 27 - Doroudi was arrested at 3 a.m. at his home in Alabama.
Doroudi is currently being held in Pickens County Jail. The US authorities justified the move with "significant national security concerns" and referred to the revocation of his student visa.
According to Rozas' lawyer, however, his client is "neither criminally charged nor involved in anti-government activities". There were "no indications" of any offenses or contacts with extremist groups.
Doroudi is in the country legally, is enrolled at the University of Alabama and is in the process of applying for an EB-1 green card - a category for people with exceptional scientific ability.
Arrest on video makes headlines
The university itself was cautious in a statement: it had "recently learned" that an international doctoral student had been arrested. Due to data protection laws, no further details could be provided, but international students are "valued members of the campus community".
The Doroudi case is not the only one of its kind: just a few days ago, Turkish PhD student Rümeysa Öztürk was arrested at Tufts University. Her arrest in broad daylight was recorded by a surveillance camera. She is accused of "supporting Hamas".
Her lawyer told NBC that he did not know where the woman had been taken and could not contact her. The Turkish embassy in Washington announced on X that it would be following the Öztürk case closely.
"Radical Hamas sympathizers"
According to media reports, Öztürk co-authored an article in a student newspaper in 2024 calling on the university to recognize that genocide against Palestinians was taking place.
The pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil from Columbia University, who was arrested by ICE following protests, also made the headlines. Donald Trump described him as a "radical Hamas sympathizer" on his Truth Social platform, although Khalil and his lawyers deny any such connections.
Another Columbia student, Leqaa Korda, was also arrested by Homeland Security for allegedly having an expired visa. She is also said to have taken part in pro-Palestine protests, but denies this.
