A US judge has temporarily blocked the detention of British social media activist Imran Ahmed, who has taken legal action against the US government over the cancellation of his visa.
The founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate was one of five people denied US visas after accusing the Trump administration of trying to censor free speech by ‘coercing’ tech platforms.
The move sparked a backlash from European leaders who defended the organization’s work in monitoring online content.
Mr. Ahmed, a permanent resident of the United States, warned that the possibility of detention or deportation would result in him becoming estranged from his American wife and children. Praising the judge’s decision, he told BBC News he would not be “harassed”.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the blocking was due to concerns that individuals online had organized efforts to pressure U.S. platforms to censor and punish U.S. viewpoints they oppose.
Ahmed filed a legal complaint Wednesday against officials, including Rubio and U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, over the decision to sanction him.
In court documents seen by the BBC, U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick said Thursday he granted Ahmed’s request for a temporary restraining order.
The judge also temporarily blocked officials from detaining Mr. Ahmed without a chance for his case to be heard.
The BBC has contacted the State Department and the White House for comment.
When approached by AFP, a State Department spokesperson said: “The Supreme Court and Congress have repeatedly made clear: the United States has no obligation to allow foreign aliens to come to our country or reside here.”
“I will not allow children to be bullied in my lifelong fight to keep them safe from the harm of social media and to stop anti-Semitism online,” Prime Minister Ahmed said.
His lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said the judge’s decision was very quick.
“The federal government cannot deport a green card holder like Imran Ahmed, who has an American wife and young children, simply because they don’t like what he says,” she said.
In 2023, Mr. Ahmed’s center was sued by Elon Musk’s social media company after reporting that hate speech had increased on the platform following the billionaire’s acquisition of the company, now called X.
The case was dismissed, but an appeal is pending.
Mr Ahmed said this in an interview with the BBC News Channel on Friday evening. “We unsuccessfully sued Elon Musk several years ago. The court found that he attempted to violate our First Amendment right to free speech by using the law to silence our accountability work.”
Prime Minister Ahmed said the past few days had been “somewhat chaotic.”
He said the Center for Countering Digital Hate “has been working with both Republican and Democratic administrations” and said he now feels he is being targeted because the organizations his group studies do not like to be called names.
“This may have been an error instigated by some of the tech companies, social media platforms, and AI platforms that the Center for Countering Digital Hate studies and holds accountable.”
