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‘I was chained…’: Indian researcher Badar Khan Suri recounts detention horror in US
Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow, was arrested in March at his home in Virginia over alleged ties to Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation.
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian researcher at Georgetown University, was released from federal custody after nearly two months of detention in a US immigration facility in Texas, following a court order issued Wednesday by US District Judge Patricia Giles.
Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow, was arrested in March at his home in Virginia over alleged ties to Hamas, a group designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States. President Donald Trump administration revoked his student visa, citing his wife’s familial connections to Gaza, and accused him of supporting Hamas through social media activity.
Following his release, Suri spoke out for the first time, describing what he called inhumane conditions during his detention. “There was no charge, there was nothing,” NBC News quoted Suri as saying.
“They made a sub-human out of me,” Suri recalled the first days of his confinement, in which he said he was kept in chains.
“For the first seven, eight days, I even missed my shadow. It was Kafkaesque, where they were taking me, what they were doing to me. I was chained — my ankles, my wrist, my body. Everything was chained.”
Suri also described unsanitary conditions inside the facility and a lack of response from officials. “The facilities were unhygienic, and I tried to raise concerns with the ombudsman, but I never got a reply,” he said.
Separated from his family, Suri said his primary concern was the emotional toll on his three young children. “My eldest son is only nine, and my twins are only five. My nine-year-old knows where I am. He was going through very rough times,” Suri said, reported NBC News.
“My wife used to tell me that he was crying. He needs support from mental health.” Despite the trauma, Suri added, “Once I hug them, things will be fine.”
At last, Suri expressed optimism, saying, “It took two months, but I’m extremely thankful that finally I’m free.”
“Justice delayed is justice denied” The Indian researcher told reporters after release from the detention facility in Alvarado, near Dallas, Texas.
His wife, Mapheze Saleh, expressed profound relief after the judge's ruling. “I truly wish I could give her [the judge] a heartfelt hug from me and from my three children, who long every day to see their father again,” she said in a statement cited by news agency AP.
What the US Judge said
US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ordered the release of Badar Khan Suri on Wednesday, citing his strong constitutional claims against the Trump administration and the absence of any threat he posed to public safety. The judge also took into account the needs of Suri’s family in making her decision.
“Speech regarding the conflict there and opposing Israel’s military campaign is likely protected political speech,” Judge Giles said, adding, “And thus he was likely engaging in protected speech.”
She further added, “The First Amendment does not distinguish between citizens and noncitizens.”
Badar Khan Suri’s attorneys argue that the Trump administration’s allegations stem largely from his wife Mapheze Saleh’s background, with her father having worked for the Hamas-linked government in Gaza well before the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
Pro-Palestine advocacy
Immigration authorities have detained multiple college students across the US—many involved in campus protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict—since the early days of the Trump administration.
Badar Khan Suri is the most recent to be released from custody, following similar court-ordered releases of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, and Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student at Columbia University.
The cases drew widespread attention as part of a broader crackdown that critics say threatens academic freedom and free speech, particularly around pro-Palestinian advocacy.
“Today’s ruling adds to mounting losses for the Trump administration,” the Center for Constitutional Rights said in a statement, criticizing what it calls the politicisation of immigration enforcement.
