US Judge Blocks Deportation of UK Anti-Disinformation Campaigner Imran Ahmed
A US judge in the Southern District of New York, Vernon S. Broderick, granted a temporary restraining order preventing Imran Ahmed from being detained or deported ahead of his case hearing. Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), is one of five Europeans recently targeted by the US State Department for allegedly leading efforts to pressure technology platforms to censor or suppress American viewpoints. Among the others targeted is Thierry Breton.
Ahmed, who resides in Washington, DC with his American wife and daughter and is a friend of Keir Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, filed a complaint naming senior Trump allies including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi. He seeks to block his deportation on constitutional grounds. His legal counsel, Roberta Kaplan, described the State Department's actions as unjustified and unconstitutional.
In related developments, UK-based Clare Melford of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) was also sanctioned. Elon Musk has criticized the GDI and previously sued the CCDH, calling it a "criminal organisation."
State Department official Sarah Rogers posted on X that those who foment censorship of American speech are unwelcome on American soil. Meanwhile, a UK government spokesperson defended visa rules but expressed support for efforts to keep the internet free of harmful content.
