Washington (Quds News Network)- Georgetown University researcher Badar Khan Suri has been released from a Texas detention centre after he was arrested as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestine activism across college campuses. A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the release of Suri, who was a postdoctoral fellow at the prestigious Washington DC institution on a student visa. An Indian national, he was arrested outside his Virginia home on March 17 by immigration agents. His lawyers said he was targeted "for speech in support of Palestinian rights and family ties to Gaza". US authorities accused him of "spreading Hamas propaganda" and having "connections to a known or suspected terrorist". The Justice Department argued the government had a right to detain him until court proceedings finished. However US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled on Wednesday his detention violated his right to free speech and due process. She refuted the government's claims he had ties to Hamas through his wife Mapheze Saleh, a US citizen whose father reportedly was a government official in Gaza. Suri's father-in-law, Ahmed Yousef, is a former adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who was assassinated by Israel last year, the Washington Post and New York Times reported. "There was no evidence submitted to this court regarding statements that he made" in support of Hamas, the judge said according to the BBC's US partner CBS News. In her court statement, Saleh said her father lived in the US for nearly 20 years while studying. "Afterward, he served as political advisor to the Prime Minister of Gaza and as the deputy of foreign affairs in Gaza," she said. Saleh said he left the Gaza government in 2010 and started an institute to encourage peace in Gaza in 2011. "Hearing the judge's words brought tears to my eyes," Saleh said in a press release from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is involved in Suri's defence. "I truly wish I could give her a heartfelt hug from me and from my three children, who long every day to see their father again," she said. "Speaking out about what's happening in Palestine is not a crime." The Trump administration is still seeking to deport Suri in separate proceedings, the ACLU said. Several students and academics have been detained and investigated by US immigration officials in recent weeks, accusing them of advocating for "violence and terrorism" over their pro-Palestine stance or advocacy. Among them is Columbia University graduate and permanent US resident Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested on 8 March after being involved in pro-Palestinian protests on campus. He was accused of having ties to Hamas, which he denies. Badar Khan Suri's release comes days after Mahdawi, a Palestinian Columbia University student, and Ozturk, a Tufts University student, were released from ICE detention. Saleh said at the court that she had recently spoken to her husband from the detention centre in Texas, where he was held. “He told me if my suffering in the detention centre is because I married a Palestinian and because I spoke out against the genocide in Gaza, then I should wear it as a badge of honour,” she said.