Aya Hijazi

Aya Hijazi (also: Hegazy, Higazi; Arabic: آية حجازي‎) is an American–Egyptian[1] charity worker and social activist. Together with her husband she founded an NGO "Belady Foundation" to support child political prisoners in Egypt. Hizaji, her husband and five other Belady members were imprisoned in Cairo from 2014 until 2017, when the Cairo Criminal Court found them innocent.[2]

Aya Hijazi
Belady foundation Aya Hijazi talks about her experience as a political prisoner, 2018
Born
Aya Hijazi

(1987-01-23) 23 January 1987
EducationConflict Resolution
Alma materGeorge Mason University
Known forBelady Foundation for Street Children, Imprisonment in Egypt 2014-2017
Spouse(s)Mohamed Hassanien
Websitehttp://belady-ih.org/

Childhood and education

Hijazi became interested in social activism during her childhood in the United States (US). She studied conflict analysis and conflict resolution at George Mason University in the US and law at Cairo University in Egypt.[3]

2011 Egyptian revolution and Belady

During the 2011 Egyptian revolution, Hijazi returned to her homeland, Egypt, along with her husband, Mohamed Hassanein, to establish a non-governmental organization (NGO), "Belady" (meaning "My Home"). Hijazi and Hassanein's intention was that Belady was to become "a symbolic island that unified people from all walks of life, allowing them to work towards the betterment of society". Belady focused on children and youth – one of Belady's main projects was helping street children who would otherwise be unsupported by state or non-state social support institutions. Working on such projects was seen by Belady to foster a sense of community while developing life skills within the children and the volunteers.

Arrest and Imprisonment

On May 1, 2014, police forces raided Belady and arrested Aya, her husband, Mohamed, Sherif Talaat and Amira Farag, also Belady members. Three months later, the police arrested Ibrahim Abd Rabbo, Karim Magdy and Mohamed al-Sayed, who had been trying to film video testimony with several children who had earlier been interviewed by the prosecution. For nearly three years, the seven individuals were imprisoned under charges that included human trafficking, kidnapping, and rape.[2]

NGOs and public figures from Egypt and around the world pressed for the release of Aya, her husband, and the Belady members. The case took a turning point when Aya's college friend, Chelsea Cowan, successfully lobbied congressmen and senators, bringing attention to her case. As a result, Hillary Clinton made it a highlight in her presidential election campaign and President Trump pressed for the release of Aya and the other defendants.[4]

On April 16, 2017, the Cairo Criminal Court found Aya and all Belady members innocent of all charges.[2] Two days after their release, Dina Powell (U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy to President Donald Trump) flew with Aya and her husband in a private plane to the United States; President Trump, along with his daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, welcomed her to the White House and celebrated her release.

Aya's case took place in the context of Egypt's crackdown on civil society, police corruption, the fabrication of criminal cases, and the abuse of pretrial detention and its use as a political tool to suppress any opposition.

Post Release

As of 2017, Aya resides in Washington D.C., where she works on expanding Belady and "saving the dreams of the most vulnerable children", by working towards the release of child political prisoners in Egypt. She plans to establish "islands of humanity" throughout the Middle East and other conflict zones.[5][6]

Personal life

Hijazi was born to an Egyptian mother and Lebanese father. She married another Egyptian–American social activist, Mohamed Hassanien.

References
  1. Egypt court acquits charity worker Aya Hijazi, BBC, US-Egyptian charity worker Aya Hijazi has been acquitted by a court in Egypt after almost three years in prison.
  2. "Aya Hegazy and Belady Foundation staff acquitted after more than 2 years in detention". Mada Masr. 2017-04-16. Archived from the original on 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  3. "How Egypt's most famous jailed couple celebrated Valentine's Day". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  4. Tamara Qiblawi. "Egyptian-American acquitted after 3 years behind bars". CNN. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  5. "Trump welcomes freed US-Egypt prisoner Aya Hijazi to White House". BBC News. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  6. "Transcript of AP interview with Trump". AP News. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
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