New York, May 7 (RHC)-- In New York City, dozens of Columbia University faculty and staff dressed in black walked in a procession and stood outside their campus Monday to call for the release of abducted Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil and others who have been targeted for speaking out for Palestinian rights. 

Coordinated vigils were also held at Tufts and Georgetown, where scholars Rümeysa Öztürk and Badar Khan Suri were also recently abducted by ICE.  The joint action across the three universities will be held weekly. 

Columbia University classics professor Joseph Howley, speaking after the protest, told reporters: “We were standing vigil on our campus today at the same time as groups of faculty standing vigil at Tufts University, Georgetown University, Boston University, all of us coming together on our different campuses to bear witness to the detention of our community members, to the fact that students and faculty are being made into political prisoners in this country simply for speaking out on behalf of the Palestinian cause.”

[ SOURCE: DEMOCRACY NOW ]