Egypt court acquits US aid worker after years in prison

By Mustafa Eid

CAIRO

An Egyptian court on Sunday cleared a U.S.-Egyptian aid worker and seven co-defendants of child abuses and human trafficking charges.

Aya Hijazi, her husband and others were detained in 2014 from the Belady Foundation, an NGO she founded to care for street children.

Egyptian authorities accused the eight of child abuse, human trafficking and sexual exploitation, charges denied by the defendants.

But the Cairo Criminal Court on Sunday acquitted the eight of the charges, a judicial source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

Sunday's trial session was attended by a representative of the U.S. embassy in Cairo and members of NGOs working in Egypt.

Defense lawyer Tahir Abu al-Nasr said any appeal by the prosecution will not halt the court verdict to release them.

The court ruling came two weeks after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington.