NEWYORK: Columbia University students have said that a Palestinian student who actively participated in protests in favor of Palestine has been arrested by agents of the administration of US President Donald Trump.
According to a Reuters report, undergraduate student Maryam Alwan and three other students at the university said on condition of anonymity that Muhammad Khalil, a student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, was arrested by US Homeland Department security agents at his residence inside the university.
Muhammad Khalil was among the students who negotiated with the university administration on behalf of pro-Palestinian students who camped and protested at Columbia University last year.
This is the first strong action against a supporter of Palestine since Donald Trump took office in January, and Muhammad Khalil is the first victim to be arrested.
A Columbia University spokesman said that the institution’s policy prohibits giving out information about any student.
Spokespersons for the US Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, which oversees the country’s visa system, also declined to comment.
Mohamed Khalil told Reuters in an interview before his arrest that he was being targeted by the government and some pro-Israel conservatives, which is concerning.
The Trump administration had earlier said that grants and contracts to Columbia University, worth up to $400 million, had been suspended.
The government had said in a statement that the cuts in grants and the attempted expulsion of students were being made as a result of anti-Israel protests near Columbia University’s Manhattan campus.
Maryam Alwan said that the Trump administration is treating Palestinians inhumanely. “I am very worried about my friend Mohamed Khalil, even though he is a legal US citizen, and the worrying thing is that this is just the beginning.”
