Biography
Tarek Bazrouk was a young Palestinian-American student active in New York City demonstrations concerning Israel’s war in Gaza. Federal prosecutors charged him with hate crimes for assaults on three Jewish or pro-Israel counter-demonstrators at protests in April and December 2024 and January 2025. Bazrouk pleaded guilty in June 2025, acknowledging that he selected the victims because of their Jewish religion or Israeli national origin. He had been held without release since his May 7, 2025 arrest. On October 28, 2025, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman sentenced him to seventeen months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Palestine-solidarity organizations argued that federal intervention in matters already proceeding in state court reflected selective and politically escalated prosecution; more than 12,000 people supported a request for time served. Bazrouk was released on June 23, 2026 after 413 days in custody and completion of an early-release program.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York — offenses, plea, and sentence
- Durub — defense campaign account and political-prosecution claim
- JNS — June 23, 2026 early release and support campaign
Photo credit
Official Free Tarek Bazrouk support campaign profile image. Photographer and image date not specified. Downloaded unchanged from the campaign profile; no generated replacement. Source photograph.
