US judge denies government’s bid to move Rumeysa Ozturk’s case to Louisiana; transfers proceeding to Vermont

A federal judge denied the Trump administration’s attempt Friday to dismiss or transfer Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk’s case to the state of Louisiana, instead ruling that the proceeding will be transferred to Vermont, Anadolu reports. US District Judge Denise Casper also granted a request to block the government from removing Ozturk from the US while her petition challenging her detention is considered. In her 26-page decision, Casper said Vermont was the appropriate venue for the case since Ozturk had been confined there at the time the petition was filed. The judge noted that Ozturk’s legal team had not known her whereabouts after her arrest, and therefore, could not be faulted for filing the petition in the state of Massachusetts, where […]