| No Images? Click here   Ahmed Abdelbasit, a New Jersey teacher who faces a death sentence in Egypt for his pro-democracy activism, was detained earlier this month outside his Jersey City apartment by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, HuffPost has learned. ICE confirmed to HuffPost that he is being held at Elizabeth Detention Center on administrative immigration violations. ICE would not elaborate on what those violations were.So goes the story of many detainees being held by ICE under the Trump administration. Lawyers working on behalf of Abdelbasit do not understand why he is being held. He is here legally, awaiting asylum, they say. If Abdelbasit were to be deported back to Egypt, a death sentence awaits.Meanwhile the high school kids he teaches here in the United States have launched an online petition and a social media campaign for their teacher’s release. They have called local politicians, tweeted action plans and urged others to do the same.“We are trying our best to do whatever we can do within our hands to help and support him,” one student told HuffPost. “He is our drive to do what we are doing right now and be student activists and fight for him.”Here is HuffPost reporter Rowaida Abdelaziz on how she uncovered the story.Talk to us about how you heard about Ahmed Abdelbasit's plight.Just a few hours after Abdelbasit was detained, I received a phone call from a source who works closely with human advocates across the world. The source understood Abdelbasit’s situation, given his past in Egypt. He knows what is possible if Abdelbasit is sent back, which is why I worked hard to verify the story right away.I immediately connected with Abdelbasit at the detention center to find out what exactly transpired that morning and corroborated the information with human rights advocates and experts who knew his case well. By that afternoon, I gathered a lot of information; Abdelbasit didn’t even have a lawyer yet. Being able to research and confirm information by talking directly to him, fast and first, gave me the ability to break the story.What was most challenging about reporting his story?Navigating a story the deals with not one, but two governments, is an extremely delicate situation. Naturally, there is working through the fear on behalf of Abdelbasit and his family, that press might worsen his situation. It’s not just the American government that could endanger his case but it’s the fear of the Egyptian government as well. Abdebasit’s situation is quite literally a matter of life and death for him. Being able to build that trust with him and his friends was extremely important to tell his story that provided the full picture and in context, but with minimum risk. Abdelbasit still has family back in Egypt.What was most surprising?Abdelbasit’s optimism. Despite everything he is going through, he has confidence and faith that the justice system will do right by him. As a journalist, I’m naturally skeptical of everything. But he was strong in his message and wanted to make sure I relayed that through my story. |
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