Egyptian-American charity worker freed in Egypt returns to US
An Egyptian-American woman detained in Egypt for nearly three years on human trafficking charges was flown back to the United States on Thursday on a US military plane, accompanied by a top White House official, a senior administration official said.
Aya Hijazi, an Egyptian who holds US citizenship, was acquitted by a Cairo court on Sunday along with seven others who had worked with street children. Hijazi was released from jail on Tuesday, having been held for nearly three years.
She was flown to Joint Base Andrews, the US military airfield on the outskirts of Washington.
US President Donald Trump had privately asked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to help out in the case when Sisi visited the White House on 3 April, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump did not mention the case publicly when he met with Sisi.
US officials had raised Hijazi's case with the Egyptians soon after Trump took office on 20 January, the official said.
Hijazi was accompanied on the flight by Dina Powell, the deputy White House national security adviser for strategy. Powell had been in the region traveling with US defence secretary James Mattis.
Hijazi, 30, founded Belady, a non-governmental organization that promotes a better life for street children.
She had been in custody for 33 months in violation of Egyptian law, which states that the maximum period for pretrial detention is 24 month
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
