Who Is Badar Khan Suri? Indian Researcher At Georgetown University Facing Deportation In The US For ‘Hamas Propaganda’

Indian-origin scholar Dr. Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, is facing deportation from the United States following his arrest by immigration authorities. His detention, which took place outside his home in Virginia on Monday night, has sparked widespread debate over academic freedom and the political climate surrounding international students in the US.

Dr. Suri was apprehended by masked agents who identified themselves as officers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to a statement from DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, he is accused of “spreading Hamas propaganda” and having “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist,” allegedly a senior advisor to Hamas.

“Suri was a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media,” McLaughlin wrote on X (formerly Twitter). She added that the Secretary of State determined on March 15, 2025, that his activities made him deportable under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) section 237(a)(4)(C)(i).

Who is Badar Khan Suri?

Dr. Suri is a postdoctoral fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He has been teaching a course on “Majoritarianism and Minority Rights in South Asia.”

An interdisciplinary scholar, he completed his PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, in 2020. His research focuses on religion, violence, and peace, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia. His doctoral thesis, titled “Transitional Democracy, Divided Societies, and Prospects for Peace: A Study of State Building in Afghanistan and Iraq,” examines the challenges of introducing democracy in ethnically diverse societies.

Dr. Suri’s legal team, led by attorney Hassan Ahmad, argues that his detention is politically motivated. According to Ahmad, Suri is being targeted due to the Palestinian heritage of his wife, Mapheze Saleh, a US citizen. Saleh, a first-year student at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, previously studied journalism in Gaza before completing a master’s degree in peacebuilding in India.

“Dr. Khan Suri is an Indian national who was duly granted a visa to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan,” a Georgetown University spokesperson said in a statement. “We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention.”

Georgetown University also defended Suri’s right to academic freedom. “We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation, and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial, or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly,” the spokesperson added.

Suri’s case is the latest in a series of detentions involving international students accused of supporting pro-Palestinian activism. Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian doctoral student at Columbia University, recently self-deported after her student visa was revoked for allegedly supporting Hamas. Similarly, Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student of Palestinian descent, was arrested by ICE agents in New York for his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

Suri remains in custody at an ICE detention facility in Alexandria, Louisiana. His defense team has filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention, and the case is expected to move to federal court in the coming weeks.

ALSO READ: Trump Suggests US Could Run Ukraine’s Power Plants in Key Discussion with Zelenskyy