By Efe Ozkan
ISTANBUL (AA)— The family of detained Turkish physicist Furkan Dolek called on Saturday for an immediate scheduling of a hearing and his release from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention in the US.
Dolek, who had gone missing for over a week in late August, was located at the Buffalo Federal Detention Center in the US state of New York following the efforts of Turkish diplomatic officials.
“Dr. Furkan Dolek, a world-renowned physicist, today stands at the intersection of academic freedom, scientific ethics, and immigrant rights in the United States,” his family said in a press release. “What has happened is no longer merely an individual tragedy, but has turned into a global matter of science and human rights.”
Dolek was transferred to the El Paso East Montana facility in Texas after it was discovered that he had been detained by ICE. The facility is a plastic greenhouse-shaped structure that houses 80 people in open bunk beds, has no sanitary conditions, and detainees have not been allowed outside for more than 10 days, Dolek's family said in the statement.
Within the detention facility, Dolek reports facing constant threats, harassment, and theft from detainees with gang or cartel ties.
He describes dire living conditions, including a lack of hygiene supplies, no access to a library, stolen food and belongings, and violent outbreaks among detainees. After contracting COVID-19 without medical care and being forced to repair his broken eyeglasses with wire, he has repeatedly petitioned for a transfer to a safer facility, but ICE officers allegedly destroyed his applications.
- Family appeal
His family, who also appealed to US authorities and the ICE Ombudsman, is now urging the US Embassy in Ankara to intervene.
“We have repeatedly written to ICE and even the ICE Ombudsman, requesting his transfer to Buffalo or another northern facility with better conditions, but we have received no response. Because of the criminal types in the same environment, my brother’s life is in danger. If harm comes to him, ICE will be responsible,” his family said.
Dolek's family requests a clear court date, Furkan's transfer to a better facility, and an end to "the unlawful treatment of Dr. Furkan Dolek—a scientific asset in physics and data science—by securing his release through an O1 visa (NIW National Interest Waiver) and restoration of honor."
Under the US Immigration and Nationality Act Section 240, removal proceedings require that detained foreign nationals be brought before an immigration judge within a reasonable period, as INA Section 236 grants the right to challenge detention conditions and request a bond hearing, prohibiting prolonged arbitrary detention.
Dolek’s family believes that if their requests are not heeded, these actions constitute “not only a violation of the right to a fair trial but also a severe breach of fundamental human rights.”
- Visa revocation and detention
Dolek was found at a New York state detention facility after he disappeared following his exposure of labor abuses and hazardous conditions at Fermilab, a US Department of Energy facility in Chicago and the world's second-largest particle collider after CERN, before having his visa revoked.
The Turkish physicist was initially invited by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, known as Virginia Tech, in 2023 to continue his research following his PhD in Switzerland.
As part of his research project, Dolek continued his scientific work at FermiLab. Per his ethical and professional responsibilities, the Turkish physicist reported irregularities, hazardous conditions, and security vulnerabilities he identified during his work, including radioactivity exposure to employees.
Consequently, he was subjected to harassment at FermiLab and dismissed from his position.
Dolek took to the US social media platform LinkedIn to expose what happened to him.
He said during his time, he saw “exploited researchers forced to work under unsafe conditions,” “the most vulnerable left unprotected while misconduct was covered up,” and “fraud and retaliation against anyone who dared to speak.”
“I reported it through every official whistleblower channel. Instead of protection, I was punished: false charges, dismissal, and total institutional silence,” wrote Dolek. "If a CERN scientist with diplomatic credentials and documented protections can be silenced, then any researcher, anywhere, can be.”
The US federal law requires whistleblowers to be kept anonymous and protected; however, the legal practice was not applied to the Turkish physicist.
In March, Dolek's J-1 research visa was revoked after Virginia Tech suspended his employment on April 12, 2024, and he was unable to obtain an official exit document from the school, leaving him in illegal status. All of his belongings, including his French residence permit at Fermilab, were confiscated.
To protest being left in an illegal status with all of his belongings being confiscated, Dolek decided to walk to Canada, documenting his way on social media.
He was subsequently detained by police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the Mohawk reservation on the border between New York and Canada on August 27.