Federal Court Orders BLH Client Mohsen Mahdawi Released on Bail

BURLINGTON, Vt. – From the bench, Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford ordered the release of Mohsen Mahdawi from prison on bail today, pending the resolution of his habeas petition. The government requested that Judge Crawford pause his release from prison for seven days by issuing a stay of the order, which the judge denied.

“They were trying to silence Mohsen’s speech solely because he dared to speak about his people, about the atrocities that are going on, and he had the audacity to say it loudly,” said Luna Droubi, one of Mahawi’s lawyers and a partner at Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP. “The judge saw right through it.”

In a comment outside of the courthouse, Mohsen thanked supporters, leading a chant: “The people united will never be defeated” across a crowd of hundreds of Vermonters. “We are pro-peace and anti-war,” he added. In closing, Mohsen shared a heartfelt message to Palestinians: “To my people in Palestine: I feel your pain, I see your suffering; and I see freedom and it is very very soon.”

Mr. Mahdawi is a lawful permanent resident of the United States who has lived in Vermont for 10 years and is set to graduate from Columbia University in May. ICE detained Mr. Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy of Palestinian rights. He was taken on April 14, directly after his long-awaited naturalization interview at an immigration field office. After apprehending him, ICE attempted to put him on a plane to Louisiana, but a temporary restraining order issued by Judge William K. Sessions III compelled the government to keep Mr. Mahdawi in Vermont.

Other information about this is available here.

Mr. Mahdawi is represented by  Luna Droubi, Matthew Melewski, and Tala Alfoqaha of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP; Cyrus Mehta and David Isaacson of Cyrus D. Mehta Partners, PLLC;; Andrew Delaney of Martin Delaney & Ricci Law Group; CLEAR; the American Civil Liberties Union; and the ACLU of Vermont.

The following are quotes from Mr. Mahdawi’s legal team:

“Mohsen is a valued member of his community here in Vermont. His friends and neighbors — and people across the country — are right to be deeply concerned by the government’s retaliation against him,” said Lia Ernst, legal director at the ACLU of Vermont. “Mohsen has committed no crime, and the government’s only supposed justification for holding him in prison is the content of his speech. We are proud to be on his legal team and we won’t stop fighting for Mohsen’s freedom.”

“The court’s order to free Mohsen today is a victory for Mohsen, in his just pursuit of continued advocacy for Palestinian lives, and it is a victory for all people in this country invested in their ability to dissent and speak and protest for causes they are morally drawn to. We will continue our legal battle for Mohsen until his constitutional rights are fully vindicated,” said Shezza Abboushi Dallal, staff attorney with CLEAR.

“Nobody should fear detention for exercising their rights under the First Amendment. We are delighted that the court recognized that Mohsen is not a flight risk and that he should be released while his case proceeds,” said Nathan Freed Wessler, deputy director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project.

Release is available online here.