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Trump Helps Release American Aid Worker Jailed In Egypt

Aid worker Aya Hijazi, her Egyptian husband and several colleagues were arrested in Cairo in May 2014.

Trump Helps Release American Aid Worker Jailed In Egypt
Twitter / @realDonaldTrump

An American aid worker jailed for nearly three years in Egypt has returned home.

Aya Hijazi was acquitted of child abuse charges after President Donald Trump pressed Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on the issue.

Hijazi, who also has dual Egyptian citizenship, founded a nonprofit with her husband to help homeless children. She and several colleagues were arrested in May 2014 on child abuse and trafficking charges.

The charges were widely viewed as unfounded and another example of the Egyptian government repressing its citizens.

Earlier this month, Trump was criticized for praising el-Sissi, who some view as a dictator.

Trump Invites Egyptian President To White House, Despite Record
Trump Invites Egyptian President To White House, Despite Record

Trump Invites Egyptian President To White House, Despite Record

President Trump hosts his Egyptian counterpart to discuss ways to fight ISIS. President Sisi has never visited the White House.

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"I just want to let everybody know, in case there was any doubt, that we are very much behind President el-Sissi. He's done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation," Trump said during an April 3 meeting with el-Sissi.

But it was apparently in the meeting after those comments that Trump mentioned Hijazi's detention to el-Sissi.

"We are very happy to have Aya back home, and it's a great honor to have her in the Oval Office with her brother," Trump said Friday while meeting with Hizaji in the Oval Office.

Hijazi's husband and colleagues were also acquitted of their charges earlier this week.

According to The Washington Post, which first reported the story, Trump sent his deputy national security adviser and a military aide to Egypt to bring Hijazi home.

Hijazi and her family reportedly returned to the U.S. on Thursday night aboard a U.S. government plane.