A friend in need
My friend needs help. He is caught in a situation that you read about in books. What do you do when it's real life? Is there any hope or help for this man? Is anyone out there listening? Is America so messed up that it would allow a man seeking help to sit and rot in prison? Can you help? Do you care? I hope so…..
Sameh Khouzam has been my friend for a little over seven years. I am proud to call him a friend for many reasons. He is an intelligent, articulate and honest individual. His mother, Georgette Shehata, did a wonderful job raising him. Above all else, Sameh Khouzam is a devout and well-read Christian. Due to this strong conviction he had been subjected for years to mental abuse and physical pain (torture) from his fellow countrymen all in the name of Islam.
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Sameh sat waiting for 2,916 days in prisons in PA, NJ and NY. Waiting for what? Decisions made by people who didn’t know or care about him but who had the power to do anything they wished with him, including deporting him back to Egypt. When the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals made its decision that he was not to be deported in 2004 because it believed he would be tortured if returned it was some relief. It still took two years for his release. During this time he lost everything -- his wife, his home, everything but his religious conviction.
The last time he was in Egypt was 1998; Sameh was tortured at the hands of the police. In fact, at that point they wanted him to walk away from his wife to marry a Moslem woman -- he refused. This same situation happened to his brother and step-father. They weren’t strong enough to endure the torture they received and converted. Sameh’s brother walked away from a wife and three children when he eventually gave up.
Fortunately, Sameh was able to escape when his captures took him to the hospital for treatment. So Sameh ran, where? Why did he come to the United States? Because he had a visa and could legally be here. He would be safe here. When he landed at JFK he found out that his visa had been revoked in mid-flight. Then he found out about the murder charges brought against him. Since then he has been convicted in absentia of a murder he did not commit. Evidence has been obtained regarding this conviction -- the victim is still walking around in Cairo.
Sameh’s case is a dilemma for the all parties concerned. In Egypt he is a convicted murderer. There was no defense at the trial; of course they would find him guilty. To appeal he would have to return to Egypt. If he returns he will most likely never live long enough to see a cell let alone a courtroom. By being a convicted murder, the U.S. immigration authorities don’t know what to do with him nor do they care.
Can you imagine being in this situation? Sameh loves Egypt but cannot go back because of the fanatical Islamists. He cannot appeal his conviction as it means a slow miserable death if he enters the country. He has no rights because he has no country. So now he has sat since May 29th, waiting for very powerful people to decide his fate. His health is deteriorating in York County Prison.
Sameh Khouzam is a threat to no one. I, and anyone who knows him, do not believe he could hurt another human being, especially a woman. Why, because he has a conscience! If this man had committed a crime as hyenas as murder, it would haunt him. Sameh’s conscience is clear and he needs our help.
Most people don’t care until something happens to them. Isn’t it time to wake up America? There are people out there that need our help, our strength, and our prayers. It’s time to stop being apathetic, this isn’t television, THIS IS REALITY!
America used to kick butt, now it can’t even get its foot off the ground!
Susan Hazlitt
York
I haven't followed all the parts of this story, but I have sympathy for this guy. We can thank Bush, Cheneny, Clinton, etc (all the globalists in Congress, too) that we give full faith & credit to lands the give no judicial justice. Many of our higher court decisions are now being made based on international law. In other words, our court system in Un-American.
And to think that this man still sits in prison. I am an Canadian who has followed this story since the get go. Justice? Think not. If people can't or won't help Sameh would you please pray for him. He could be you, your brother father or son. I would suppose that compassion, understanding and love don't exist anymore.