A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the release of Badar Khan Suri, the Georgetown University postdoctoral researcher detained by immigration officials in March for allegedly spreading propaganda in support of Hamas.

Federal Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles issued her order from the bench during a court hearing in Virginia, saying that the government presented no evidence to refute Khan Suri's claims that he was being punished for his views on the war in Gaza.

Suri is being held in federal detention in Texas.