Indian research scholar arrested for spreading Hamas propaganda, faces US deportation

Badar Khan Suri, a post-doctoral fellow at Georgetown University, was arrested by masked Department of Homeland Security agents outside his Virginia home on March 17.

Accused of spreading Hamas propaganda and having ties to a suspected terrorist, Suri's visa was revoked, and he now faces deportation.

"Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University, actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media," Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, wrote on X.

"Suri has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas. The Secretary of State issued a determination on March 15, 2025, that Suri's activities and presence in the United States rendered him deportable under INA section 237(a)(4)(C)(i)," McLaughlin added.

Hassan Ahmad, Suri's lawyer, said in his appeal that Suri is being punished due to his wife’s Palestinian ancestry.

His wife, Mapheze Saleh, a US citizen from Gaza, is a first-year student at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.

She graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza in Palestine with a bachelor's degree in journalism and information.

She later earned a master’s degree in conflict analysis and peacebuilding from the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, India.

"Dr Khan Suri is an Indian national who was duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan," a Georgetown spokesperson said in a statement.

"We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention. We support our community members' rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation, and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial, or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly," the spokesperson added.

According to Georgetown University's website, Dr. Badar Khan Suri is an interdisciplinary scholar focusing on religion, violence, and peace; ethnic conflicts; and peace processes in the Middle East and South Asia.

He is a postdoctoral fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.

This semester, he has been teaching a class on "Majoritarianism and Minority Rights in South Asia."

He earned his PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from the Nelson Mandela Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, in 2020.

Ranjani Srinivasan, a 37-year-old Indian student pursuing a doctoral degree in urban planning at Columbia University, self-deported last week after her student visa was revoked.

The US Department of State canceled her visa on March 5, citing security concerns linked to her involvement in pro-Palestine protests and alleged support for Hamas.

"Ranjani Srinivasan was involved in activities supporting Hamas, a terrorist organization. On March 5, 2025, the Department of State revoked her visa. The Department of Homeland Security has obtained video footage of her using the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency app to self-deport on March 11," it said in a statement.

In a post on X, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem referred to Srinivasan as a "terrorist sympathizer" and said that people who "advocate terrorism and violence" should not be allowed to remain in the United States.