An American medical student imprisoned in Egypt for more than a year returned to the United States on Monday, the State Department said.
Mohamed Amashah, a New Jersey Egyptian-American with dual citizenship, was held in pretrial detention for more than 500 days on charges of “misuse of social media” and “helping a terrorist group,” according to the Freedom Initiative, which advocated for its launch.
“We welcome the release of the American citizen Mohamed Amashah from Egyptian custody, and we thank Egypt for its cooperation in its repatriation,” the State Department said.
In this image provided by the Freedom Initiative, Mohamed Amashah, second from left, is greeted by family members upon arrival at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on Monday. The American medical student detained without trial in an Egyptian prison for nearly 500 days has been released and returned to the United States, the United States Department of State said Monday. (Bushra Soltan / Freedom Initiative via AP)
Amashah was arrested after being seen alone in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in March 2019 with a sign that read: “Freedom for all political prisoners.” He was arrested and sent to the Tora penitentiary complex, where he remained for almost 16 months.
Protests have been illegal in Egypt since 2013 when President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, as defense minister, led the military expulsion of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, amid massive protests against his government.
Tahrir Square, where Amashah had his poster, was the epicenter of the 2011 Arab Spring movement in Egypt.
In prison, Amashah’s health declined amid the coronavirus pandemic, prompting US officials to call for his release. He suffers from asthma and an autoimmune disease, which makes him susceptible to the disease.
The chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, a Republican, said he personally raised the issue of “unjustly detained Americans” with Egypt’s foreign ministry last week.
Mohamed Amashah was detained without trial in an Egyptian prison for nearly 500 days, has been released and returned to the United States, the United States Department of State said on Monday. (Bushra Soltan / Freedom Initiative via AP)
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A bipartisan group of senators also urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to urge foreign governments to release American detainees, including Amashah, citing the virus.
In a statement, the Freedom Initiative called the release “a positive step forward and a step in the right direction that we hope will be based on the release of political prisoners in Egypt.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
