Statement on Badar Khan Suri
The arrest of Badar Khan Suri must be understood in the context of the Trump Administration’s foreign and domestic policies. Specifically, U.S. support for genocide abroad and McCarthyism at home.
Consider, for instance, that at the precise moment that Dr. Khan Suri was arrested, Israel, after coordinating with the Trump Administration, launched a brutal attack on the people of Gaza that according to Amnesty International killed at least 400 people including 174 children. This event on March 17 is now known as “The Ramadan Massacre.” As it continues to enable genocide in Gaza, so too will the Trump administration expand its authoritarian weaponization of the legal system to attack political speech that is protected by the First Amendment.
Dr. Khan Suri should be immediately released. He has committed no crime. Like Mahmoud Khalil before him, he was arrested in the context of a campaign by the Trump Administration to destroy higher education in the United States and punish their political opponents. Team Trump is open about this. J.D. Vance famously announced in 2021 that “the universities are the enemy.” They are perceived by Trump as the “enemy” for reasons that should make every American proud.
A bedrock of American democracy has been our universities and colleges. They have been the envy of the world. What makes them great is that they are institutions that defend academic freedom and freedom of speech. Historically, they have promoted free inquiry, debate, and dissent. It is no surprise that the Trump Administration views these institutions as a danger and wants to silence them. Critical thinking poses a threat to all authoritarian regimes, including the one in Washington D.C.
American citizens need to mobilize and resist the authoritarian takeover of our country. First, they came for Mahmoud Khalil and Badar Khan Suri. Their “crime” is defending Palestinian human rights. Do you think the Trump Administration will stop there?
* This statement reflects the views of the faculty of ACMCU and does not necessarily reflect the position of the School of Foreign Service or Georgetown University *
