Professor Rasha Alawieh Deported from US, Back in Lebanon: Family Says

Photo: AFP

A Lebanese professor has returned to her home country after being expelled from the United States. She was removed from the country because she attended the funeral of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during a visit to Beirut, her family told on Tuesday.

Rasha Alawieh, 34, is a kidney transplant specialist and a professor at Brown University, a well-known Ivy League school. She was stopped last Thursday at Logan International Airport in Boston and was sent back to Lebanon the next day, according to U.S. media reports.

A family member, who did not want to be named, told AFP that when Alawieh was stopped by U.S. Homeland Security at the airport, officers questioned her about attending Nasrallah’s funeral on February 23.

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Alawieh admitted that she had been outside the stadium where the funeral took place, along with thousands of other people, but she insisted that she did not go inside to attend the ceremony.

Officials reportedly found photos of Hezbollah figures on her phone, and she was accused of supporting the group. The family member said Alawieh’s "life’s dream is to return to the United States," as she believes her future is now uncertain.

Alawieh had spent several weeks on vacation in Lebanon before being detained at the airport. She held a U.S. residence visa, which was given to foreign professionals with special skills. The visa had been issued by the U.S. embassy, according to her family.

On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security released a statement on social media, saying that Alawieh had traveled to Beirut specifically to attend the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah, whom they called "a brutal terrorist" responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans over the past four decades.

The statement also claimed that Alawieh had "openly admitted" to attending the funeral and supporting Nasrallah. Later, the White House shared the post, adding the message: "Bye-bye, Rasha."

Thousands of people had gathered in Beirut last month for Nasrallah’s funeral. His death was caused by an Israeli airstrike in September, but Hezbollah had delayed the ceremony until a ceasefire was reached and Israeli forces had withdrawn from southern Lebanon.

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