Mahmoud Halil, a recent Columbia University alumnus who worked with human rights groups and the UK government this month, was taken into custody in New York. The eight-month pregnant wife said her husband wasn't told why he was in custody and that the officers assume he is on a visa, but in fact he has a green card, so he stays in the US and protects his constitutional rights.
Halil says his detention is part of a crackdown on dissent and that others will stop the protest. Last year, during the pro-Palestinian protests on the Columbia campus, he acted as a mediator between the university and the protesters, and unlike many students, he discovered the face. Donald Trump was then elected President of the United States and promised to crack down on student protests.
Professor Joseph Howley, who knows Halil, says he is “a prominent commitment to a comprehensive vision of liberation and peace, and a prominent commitment to the non-violent resolution of conflict.” He says Michael Sapphi Why is the government's efforts to detain and deport Halil “incredibly cold.”
Chris McGreelthe writer for Guardian Us explains the background of the incident and whether free speech and rights to protest are safe in Trump's America.
