Trump says he is unaware of detained Turkish student case

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he was "not aware" of the situation regarding detained Turkish Ph.D. student Rümeysa Öztürk, but said he could request the relevant authorities to release any evidence regarding the case.

In a Time magazine interview on April 25, Trump responded to questions about Öztürk’s situation, saying he was unaware of her case.

The president said that he would consider asking the Justice Department to release any evidence they have against her.

"I would have no trouble with it," he said.

On March 25, Öztürk, a Ph.D. student at Tufts University, left her apartment to attend an iftar dinner with friends. On the sidewalk, she was abducted by six plainclothes immigrant officials and taken to a facility in central Louisiana. An immigration judge has denied her bond, while the government has yet to produce evidence of her alleged activities in support of Hamas or charge her with a crime. An official has cited an op-ed she co-wrote with four other students last spring, criticizing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, as a reason for her arrest.