A Lebanese professor and kidney transplant specialist, Rasha Alawieh, has been deported from the United States after attending the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
Alawieh, 34, a professor at Ivy League Brown University, was detained at Logan International Airport in Boston on Thursday and deported the following day.
Her family told AFP that Alawieh was questioned by US authorities about her attendance at the February 23 funeral, to which she admitted being present outside the stadium but denied participating in the ceremony inside.
She was reportedly found with pictures of Hezbollah figures on her phone and was accused of supporting the group.
Alawieh had been visiting Lebanon on a holiday and held a US residence visa granted for individuals with special skills.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the deportation, stating that Alawieh had travelled to Beirut to attend the funeral of Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September.
The DHS characterised Nasrallah as a “brutal terrorist” and stated that Alawieh openly supported him.
The White House shared a post from DHS on social media, saying, “Bye-bye, Rasha.”
Rasha Alawieh had long hoped to return to the US, where her future as an academic is now uncertain following the incident.
