New Jersey teen freed from Egyptian jail

Hannan Adely | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption Surveillance footage: Ahmed Hassan arrested, imprisoned in Egypt Hassan, a U.S. citizen formerly of Pomona, NJ, is now in an adult prison in Egypt and pleading for help from the U.S.

A New Jersey teenager who pleaded for help after he was arrested in Egypt in 2016 is safe, out of jail and has returned to his home state to work for the summer.

Ahmed Hassan, 19, arrived at JFK International Airport on June 10 and will spend the summer working at a family friend’s restaurant in Cape May.

In an interview, Hassan, who was released in October, said he preferred not to talk about his time in custody.

“I spent a lot of time in jail. It’s 320 days. You know what? It’s not easy,” he said.

Hassan was 17 when he was jailed after he questioned police officers who arrested his uncle on a zoning violation near his home in Zagazig, a city about 50 miles north of Cairo. Surveillance video showed officers hitting him and dragging and tossing him into a van.

Hassan grew up in Pomona, a section of Galloway Township near Atlantic City. His father moved his family to his native Egypt a decade ago, but Hassan frequently returned to New Jersey to spend his summers here.

Emphasizing that Hassan is an American citizen and a minor, his family and human rights advocates pleaded with U.S. officials to help him after his arrest. But officials at the U.S. embassy in Cairo "did nothing," said his father, Mohamed Mustafa.

However, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., spoke about Hassan's imprisonment in a face-to-face meeting with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi during the Egyptian leader's visit to Washington in April last year.

Menendez, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-Atlantic, wrote a letter to Rex Tillerson, then the secretary of state, to raise concerns about Hassan's imprisonment and his treatment by Egyptian authorities.

"Cases such as Ahmed's raise serious concerns over Egyptian authorities' respect for human rights, civil liberties, and the treatment of American citizens," they wrote in the April 25 letter.

Hassan had been held in a crowded adult prison with more than 20 people in a cell, and his family worried deeply for his health and safety. In March 2017, Hassan wrote a letter to President Donald Trump pleading for help. "I am proud to be an American," he wrote. "I beg you to defend my right to be free."Human rights advocates who have documented abuse, torture and overcrowding in Egyptian jails joined Hassan's family in lobbying U.S. officials for help. Hassan was among about 20 American citizens who were being held amid a crackdown on dissent and protest, according to advocates.

But Hassan's case was unique because it did not involve political charges or accusations.

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The incident unfolded on Dec. 1, 2016. Police detained his uncle, claiming he built his house on land zoned for agricultural use. Hassan told police they had it wrong and that his uncle had been living in his home for 10 years.

The uncle was arrested along with five female relatives. When Hassan approached police to protest the arrests, he said, officers beat him and put him into the van. He was charged with interfering with police work and, after he was convicted, sentenced to a year in prison.

Hassan said the experience was particularly hard as he remained in jail as he saw all his relatives released before him, including the uncle originally targeted by police. Hassan said he did nothing wrong.

“It was so bad for me that everyone in this case got out and I was still there," he said. "What are you going to think when you are me?"

Hassan served his sentence and was released in October. At the time, an American attorney aiding his case did not want to comment or confirm his release, saying the family did not want to speak, fearing it would jeopardize his release.

In a phone interview from Egypt, Mohamed Mustafa described his joy the day officers called to tell him he could pick up his son. It was “like a dream,” he said.

“This was a beautiful day. As soon as I got my son, oh my God, I can’t describe the feeling,” he said, quietly crying during the interview.

He had a cow slaughtered and prepared in a celebration to mark his son’s return. About 150 people were invited to share a meal, he said, and the leftover meat was donated to the poor.

Now, the family is trying to put the difficult period past them, Mustafa said. His son does not like to talk about his days in jail. “I don’t want to pressure him,” Mustafa said.

Hassan just completed high school and is focused on his future. After working at the Jersey Shore this summer, Hassan plans to return to his family in Egypt and apply to college.

Email: adely@northjersey.com