Mohsen Mahdawi, a US permanent resident from Palestine, has called US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s attempts to justify his arrest over his activism “laughable”.
Mr Rubio has said that Mr Mahdawi was “removable” under the Immigration and Nationality Act and that his actions could have “serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise compelling US foreign policy interest”.
“A person who has been vocally advocating for justice and peace is undermining US policy?” Mr Mahdawi asked rhetorically during an interview with CBS News, his first one on-camera since he was released last week as his case continues.
In mid-April, authorities in Vermont arrested Mr Mahdawi, a Columbia University student who helped organise campus protests in support of Palestine, after he arrived at an immigration office to complete the final step before becoming a US citizen.
In addition to his comments on Mr Rubio, he also did not hesitate to criticise President Donald Trump's administration for its aggressive pursuit of student demonstrators organising protests in support of Palestinians and Gaza.
“I am not afraid of you,” he said. “There’s a philosophy of intimidation, of punitive justice. I wanted to share with them that you can do whatever you want, but you will not silence me.”
Mr Mahdawi said his release after 16 days of detention offers a ray of hope in a US justice system that he describes as under assault from the Trump White House.
His interview came days after judge in Vermont ordered his release.
“The two weeks of detention so far demonstrate great harm to a person who has been charged with no crime,” US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford said at the hearing.
The judge added that he should remain in his home state of Vermont and attend Columbia, which is in New York, remotely, but added that he can travel to meet his legal team and go to the university when necessary.
Mr Mahdawi is a legal US resident and has lived in the US since 2014.
Making the arrest all the more curious was the fact he had walked into a federal office in Vermont for an immigration interview before being detained by plainclothes agents.
“Masked agents, loaded with guns, separated me and isolated me from my lawyer. They did not allow for any conversation or let me see the order, or what was happening. I said that I am a peaceful man,” he said.
The State Department did not directly answer requests from The National to address comments from Mr Mahdawhi, explaining that as a general matter, "we do not comment on pending or ongoing litigation."
Outside the courthouse following his release, Mr Mahdawhi led supporters in chanting “The people, united, will never be defeated” and “Free Palestine”. He said people must come together in the defence of both democracy and humanity.
As a student, Mr Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and organised campus protests until March 2024. He cofounded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the US who was detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Mr Mahdawi could still be deported depending on how things unfold in court, with US authorities appealing the Vermont judge’s decision.
He plans on starting his master’s degree at Columbia beginning in the autumn.
Mr Mahdawi’s detention and potential removal from the US is among many similar incidents that have taken place since US Mr Trump took office in January.
In March, Mr Rubio said that the US had revoked at least 300 visas, many to foreign students, as it cracks down on people who participated in protests against the war in Gaza.
The US State Department will reportedly soon be using artificial intelligence to potentially revoke the visas of international students accused of supporting Hamas – an idea that many legal experts say could be problematic from a due process standpoint. Tech experts have also pointed out that AI is far from perfect, and often misses nuances involved in politics, demonstrations and protests.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
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Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
