Furkan Dölek, a Turkish physicist who had been missing for more than a week, has been located at a federal detention facility in Buffalo, New York, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Thursday.
His sister, Esra Dölek Coşkun, told Anadolu on Thursday that the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Consulate General in New York confirmed his transfer to the Buffalo Federal Detention Center. She said the family is awaiting a court date and is focused on securing his return to Turkey.
Coşkun said her brother sounded well during a recent phone call and that consular officials were keeping the family informed.
Dölek’s US visa was reportedly revoked, and he began a protest walk toward Canada, during which he was detained. In his last LinkedIn post on August 27, he wrote that he had reached the Mohawk territory of Akwesasne after walking from Massena, adding that he was “exhausted” but “grateful” to have made it that far.
The physicist, who previously worked at CERN, Virginia Tech and the US Department of Energy’s Fermilab, had earlier alleged workplace exploitation and retaliation against whistleblowers. He claimed that researchers were forced to work under unsafe conditions and that those who reported misconduct were dismissed and targeted instead of being protected.
His family in Adana said they had sold their house to support his legal battle and warned that he could face transfer to a third-country detention facility under new refugee laws.
US authorities have not commented on the case.