Mahmoud Khalil, the prominent pro-Palestine activist and a US resident who was detained by the US authorities for his Gaza activism at Columbia University last Spring, has sent his first letter from detention in Lousiana, in which he said his arrest is a direct consequence of free speech and a testament to the power of the Students Spring in shifting the public opinion toward the liberation of Palestine.
"I am a political prisoner. I am writing to you from a detention facility in Louisiana where I wake to cold mornings and spend long days bearing witness to the quiet injustices underway against a great many people precluded from the protections of the law," Khalil started his letter, dictated Louisiana immigration lockup and released by his attorney, as saying.
"Who has the right to have rights?" he asked.
Khalil was arrested on March 8 by Homeland Security agents, who he said refused to provide a warrant, for his activism for Gaza amid Israel's carnage in the blockaded enclave. President Donald Trump hailed his arrest and said it was the "first of many," while thousands protested his detention and demanded his release.
In his letter, Khalil said that at the time of his arrest his only concern was his pregnant wife, who he said agents threatened to arrest for not leaving his side.
"DHS (Department of Homeland Security) would not tell me anything for hours — I did not know the cause of my arrest or if I was facing immediate deportation," he said.
He added that he was transferred from 26 Federal Plaza to another facility in New Jersey, where he had to sleep on the floor and was denied a blanket despite his request.
TRT Global - Federal judge orders government to allow Mahmoud Khalil and his attorneys to speak on a privileged call on Wednesday and Thursday, while government pushes to relocate the detained Columbia student's legal battle to New Jersey or Louisiana.
Gaza's plight
Khalil once again has shed light on Gaza's plight, saying he was arrested for exercising his right of free speech against Israel's genocide.
"My arrest was a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza, which resumed in full force Monday night," he said, referring to the resumption of the Israeli carnage in the blockaded enclave.
"With January's ceasefire now broken, parents in Gaza are once again too-small shrouds, and families are forced to weigh starvation and displacement against bombs."
Khalil also likened his situation to Israel's tactic of using administrative arrest (an arrest without charge or trial) to strip Palestinians of their rights.
"I think of Omar Khatib, who was incarcerated without charge or trial by Israel as he returned home from travel. I think of Gaza hospital director and paediatrician Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, who was taken captive by the Israeli military on December 27 and remains in an Israeli torture camp today," he stated.
TRT Global - Students of the Ivy League university condemn the targeting of the Gaza genocide activist, fearing they might be next as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on campus protests over "anti-Semitism" allegations.
Liberating oppressors from hatred
Khalil also said that he always believed that it was his duty to liberate his oppressors from hatred and fear, not just liberate himself from them.
"My unjust detention is indicative of the anti-Palestinian racism that both the Biden and Trump administrations have demonstrated over the past 16 months as the US has continued to supply Israel with weapons to kill Palestinians and prevented international intervention," he said.
"For decades, anti-Palestinian racism has driven efforts to expand US laws and practices that are used to violently repress Palestinians, Arab Americans, and other communities. That is precisely why I am being targeted."
As he awaits legal decisions, he accused former Columbia University president Minouche Shafik, interim president Katrina Armstrong and Dean Yarhi-Milo, of laying the groundwork for US authorities to target him.
However, he said his arrest was a testament to the power of students in shifting public opinion.
"Students have long been at the forefront of change," he said.
He warned that Trump won't hold back against others, saying Visa-holders, green-card carriers and citizens will all be targeted for their political backgrounds.
"In the weeks ahead, students, advocates, and elected officials must unite to defend the right to protest for Palestine. At stake are not just our voices, but the fundamental civil liberties of all," he warned.
"Knowing fully that this moment transcends my individual circumstances, I hope nonetheless to be free to witness the birth of my first-born child."
