India, May 15 -- A US judge has ordered the release from custody of Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow from India studying at Georgetown University in Washington, who is facing possible deportation for alleged Hamas ties.

Badar Khan Suri was arrested by federal agents two months ago at his home in Virginia and has been held in Texas.

District Judge Patricia Giles on Wednesday ordered Badar Khan Suri's immediate release and that he be allowed to return from Texas to his wife and three children in Virginia on his personal recognisance.

"Hearing the judge's words brought tears to my eyes," Suri's wife, Mapheze Saleh, said in a statement released by the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which is among the groups representing her ...