Judge orders Trump administration to release Mahmoud Khalil, condemns ‘chilling’ assault on free speech – Middle East Monitor

Warning of the “chilling” effect on free speech, a US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration can no longer detain Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil under a Cold War-era foreign policy provision that legal experts say violates constitutional protections.

District Judge Michael Farbiarz found that detaining Khalil based on vague national security allegations amounted to a serious infringement on his rights. “The petitioner’s career and…