Egyptian-American charity worker detained in Egypt for 3 years lands in the U.S. after Trump's intercession

Aya Hijazi is released from detention in Cairo

(Image credit: AP Photo/Mohamed el Raai, File)

published 21 April 2017

Aya Hijazi, an Egyptian-American charity worker arrested in Cairo in May 2014, arrived in the U.S. on a government plane Thursday night along with her Egyptian husband, Mohamed Hassanein. Both of them had been detained by the Egyptian government for three years on child abuse and human trafficking charges widely dismissed as fabricated. President Trump had quietly worked for Hijazi's release, senior administration officials told The Washington Post and The New York Times, getting assurances that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi would secure her release before Trump hosted Sisi at the White House earlier this month.

On Sunday, a court in Cairo suddenly dismissed all charges against Hijazi, Hassanein, and four aid workers for the charity the couple had set up to help Cairo street children. Former President Barack Obama's administration had pushed for the release of Hijazi, a U.S. citizen, but Obama had also barred Sisi from the White House because he had taken power in a 2013 coup, cracked down on all dissent, and was accused of other human rights abuses. Trump, on the other hand, praised Sisi during his White House visit.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.