Latest news with #ElGamal
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Wife of Colorado attack suspect says she and her 5 children are ‘suffering' in ICE custody
The wife of an Egyptian man accused of carrying out an antisemitic attack in Colorado earlier this month says she was in 'total shock' when she learned what her husband had allegedly done, detailing the 'grieving and suffering' her family is enduring in after federal custody , in a statement released Wednesday. Hayam El Gamal, 43, and her five children were detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement two days after federal prosecutors say her husband, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, drove to downtown Boulder with a homemade flamethrower and Molotov cocktails and attacked demonstrators at a peaceful event to support Israeli hostages in Gaza, injuring at least 12 people. For a full year, Soliman, 45, planned the violent assault driven by his simmering anger toward Israel and hatred of 'Zionists,' according to federal documents. But El Gamal says she and the children were not aware of Soliman's plan to hurt innocent people. 'Why punish any of us, who did nothing wrong?' El Gamal said in the statement. 'We are treated like animals by the officers, who told us we are being punished for what my husband is accused of doing.' On June 3, El Gamal says she and her children were arrested, put on a flight in the middle of the night and transferred from Colorado to the Dilley Family Detention Center in southern Texas. In the two weeks that have passed, El Gamal said her eldest daughter turned 18 in federal custody and her younger children – aged 4, 4, 7 and 15 – were 'forced to watch officials rough-up' another detainee. 'They cried and cried, thinking they would be roughed-up, too,' El Gamal said. 'How much longer will we be here for something we didn't do?' Conditions in the detention center are inhumane, according to El Gamal, who says detainees are always being watched and woken up in the middle of the night. CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on conditions at the detention center following a referral from ICE and the facility's owner, CoreCivic, a private prison operator based in Nashville. 'Now my seven-year-old is about to have her birthday in jail, and my fifteen-year-old, too,' El Gamal added. 'All they want is to be home, to be in school, to have privacy, to sleep in their own beds, to have their mother make them a home-cooked meal, to help them grieve and get through these terrible weeks.' The exact reason for the detention of Soliman's wife and children is not clear, according to Eric Lee, the family's immigration attorney based in Michigan. The family entered the United States in August 2022, Lee told CNN Wednesday, before overstaying their visas. However, that's not why they were detained, he said. 'The issue here is whether they can be detained when the government has explicitly stated that its reason for detaining them is not because their visa overstays, but is because of their family relationship to their husband/father,' Lee told CNN Wednesday. Once detained, El Gamal and the children were placed under expedited removal, a process that allows immigration officials to remove noncitizens without a hearing before an immigration judge, Lee says. At the time of their detention, DHS did not provide additional details on the expedited removal process. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has said the agency is 'investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it.' El Gamal has not been charged with a crime, according to Lee, who notes there is no legal basis for deporting Soliman's family. 'The government can't detain individuals for unlawful purposes,' Lee added. While Soliman faces a federal hate crime charge and state charges including attempted murder, his wife and children are hoping to remain in the US, Lee says. On Wednesday, a US District court approved a request to extend a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge on June 4 that aims to keep El Gamal and her children in the US and prevents immigration officials 'from trying to deport this family illegally,' Lee told CNN. The order has been extended for an additional 14 days. The Trump administration opposed the extension request, stating that the family is not being placed under expedited removal, according to Lee. ' We don't understand if the government's being forthright about its statement that it is not anymore trying to put them into expedited removal,' Lee said. 'Why are they opposing the extension of an order which would prevent the administration from doing just that?' Since coming to the US, El Gamal says she and her family have tried to do everything right: learn English, find work, be good neighbors. 'All I want is to give my children good lives. My oldest daughter volunteered at a hospital; she has a 4.5 GPA and wants to become a doctor, to help people in this country,' El Gamal said. She and the children should be given the chance to grieve in peace, Lee added. 'That doesn't take anything away from the families of the people who are attacked in this terrible act,' he added. 'But, creating more suffering doesn't help anybody in this situation.'
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Hate crime case against Boulder suspect can go forward, judge rules
Soliman faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if he's found guilty of the federal hate crime charges against him. The native of Egypt has also been charged in state court with 118 criminal counts, including attempted murder and other offenses. He sat expressionless in federal court in Denver. A city rattled: Divisions deepen in wealthy, liberal Boulder after antisemitic attack What happened in the attack in Boulder? Soliman is accused of lobbing Molotov cocktails and using a makeshift flamethrower to target Run for Their Lives, a group advocating for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas and held in Gaza for more than 20 months. The attack in Boulder came less than two weeks after two Israeli Embassy staff members were brazenly shot to death in Washington, D.C., amid a rise in antisemitism incidents across the U.S. and as tensions have escalated over Israel's war in Gaza, prompted by a brutal Hamas-led assault on Israeli border communities Oct. 7, 2023. What do authorities say was the suspect's motive? Soliman said "he wanted them to all die . . . He said he would go back and do it again and had no regret doing what he did," Boulder Detective John Sailer wrote in court papers of the attack on the gathering at a Boulder pedestrian mall. Soliman said that, to him, anyone who supported the existence of Israel on "our land" is a Zionist. He defined "our land" as Palestine, court documents said. Soliman allegedly hurled two of the 18 Molotov cocktails he'd brought with him, authorities said, yelling "Free Palestine." A federal affidavit charging Soliman with a hate crime and attempted murder says he learned about the march from an online search. He said he waited for his daughter to graduate from high school before executing the plot, according to the affidavit. He hoped to use a gun and had taken shooting classes, but his immigration status prevented him from purchasing a firearm, the affidavit says. What is happening in the immigration case In her first public statement, Soliman's wife, Hayam El Gamal, who along with her five children is being held at a family detention facility in south Texas, that they are "in total shock'' over her husband's alleged June 1 attack. El Gamal and the children, now ages 4 to 18, were arrested by immigration agents June 3, and the White House said they would be subjected to expedited deportation. But a federal judge in Denver blocked that move the next day, saying they were entitled to due process. By then the family had been transferred to the detention facility in Texas, where the case will be heard. "We are grieving, and we are suffering,'' El Gamal said in social media remarks posted Wednesday. "We are treated like animals by the officers, who told us we are being punished for what my husband is accused of doing.'' El Gamal said the family has been cooperating with authorities, and she expressed concern for both the victims of the attack and her children's wellbeing amid the anguish of their ordeal. El Gamal made the comments through Eric Lee, the lawyer representing her and the children, who posted them to his X account. Lee added that a federal judge on Wednesday extended a temporary restraining order keeping the Trump administration from deporting the family, who came to the U.S. from Kuwait in 2022 and sought asylum. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. What is the group Run for Their Lives? The national Run for Their Lives organization has sponsored walks and runs in hundreds of cities since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel, the deadliest on Jews since the Holocaust, as about 1,200 people were killed and 240 were taken hostage by Hamas. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since the onset of the war, which Israel launched in response to the attack. Contributing: Phaedra Trethan, Michael Loria, Trevor Hughes
New York Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Wife of Boulder firebombing suspect begs Americans for help while judge delays deportation
The wife of accused Boulder, Colorado attacker and illegal Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman released her first public statement pleading for the American people's help after a Texas US District Court judge on Wednesday ruled the family will be allowed to remain in the country pending deportation efforts. Soliman, 45, is accused of injuring more than a dozen people after throwing Molotov cocktails into a crowd of peaceful pro-Israel demonstrators, while yelling, 'Free Palestine.' Following the attack, federal authorities detained Soliman's wife, Hayem El Gamal, and five children, who lived about two hours away in Colorado Springs. A Colorado judge ruled last week that since El Gamal and the children were removed by federal officials and sent to Texas, any judicial relief had to come from a judge with jurisdiction. US District Court Judge Orlando Garcia, in San Antonio, issued a 14-day extension of the previously issued order prohibiting the family's deportation. Following Garcia's decision, El Gamal, through an attorney, released her first public statement regarding the case. 5 Colorado terror suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman's wife Hayem El Gamal has released her first public statement as his family attempts to avoid deportation. via REUTERS 5 Soliman allegedly injured over a dozen people when he threw Molotov cocktails at a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder on June 1, 2025. Lisa Turnquist via AP 'My five children and I are in total shock over what they sa[w] my husband d[o] in Boulder, Colorado earlier this month,' El Gamal wrote. 'So many lives were ruined on that day. There is never an excuse for hurting innocent people. We have been cooperating with the authorities, who are trying their best to get to the bottom of this. We send our love to the many families who are suffering as a result of the attack.' She explained the aftermath of the attack from her perspective, detailing a late-night flight and stay at an immigration jail in Texas. 'This includes my two four-year-old children, my seven-year-old, my fifteen-year-old, and my oldest daughter, who just turned eighteen in jail,' she wrote. 'We are grieving, and we are suffering. We are treated like animals by the officers, who told us we are being punished for what my husband is accused of doing. But why punish me? Why punish my four-year-old children? Why punish any of us, who did nothing wrong?' 5 Soliman seen in court on June 2, 2025. Reuters Since coming to America three years ago, El Gamal claimed the family 'tried to do everything right,' obtaining work permits, learning English and teaching the US's official language to other immigrants. 'We have always tried to be good neighbors, cooking food for those around us regardless of whether they are Muslim, Christian or Jewish,' she wrote. 'I do not judge anyone based on his religion. If your heart is good, that's enough.' The reference to neighbors practicing other religions comes weeks after Fox News Digital interviewed an observant Jewish family who recently moved into the same neighborhood as the suspect's family. 5 The Soliman family's home in Colorado Springs. Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP In the days following the attack, David and Rivkah Costello described the horror of finding out that their neighbor had been charged in connection to the alleged hate crime. As the couple unpacked boxes, they said El Gamal showed up at their door, adorned with a mezuzah, offering cupcakes to welcome them to the neighborhood. 'All I want is to give my children good lives,' El Gamal continued in statement. 'My oldest daughter volunteered at a hospital; she has a 4.5 GPA and wants to become a doctor, to help people in this country. My kids want to go to school, they want to see their friends and deal with their grief from recent weeks. But here they can't sleep. They cry throughout the day, asking me, 'When will we get to go home?'' 5 Soliman's daughter Habiba Soliman. Instagram/Thomas MacLaren School She claimed when they were first detained, her children were 'forced' to watch officials 'rough-up' another detainee, adding they lacked privacy and decent meals. 'Only mothers can truly understand what we are going through,' El Gamal wrote. 'I did everything for my kids. It has been two weeks in jail, how much longer will we be here for something we didn't do? How much longer until the damage to my children is irreversible? It has been so hard for me to stay strong for my kids. I'm so tired. I ask the American people, with all my heart, to please listen to our story and help us.'
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Wife of Boulder firebombing suspect begs Americans for help while judge delays deportation
The wife of accused Boulder, Colorado attacker and illegal Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman released her first public statement pleading for the American people's help after a Texas U.S. District Court judge on Wednesday ruled the family will be allowed to remain in the country pending deportation efforts. Soliman, 45, is accused of injuring more than a dozen people after throwing Molotov cocktails into a crowd of peaceful pro-Israel demonstrators, while yelling, "Free Palestine." Following the attack, federal authorities detained Soliman's wife, Hayem El Gamal, and five children, who lived about two hours away in Colorado Springs. A Colorado judge ruled last week that since El Gamal and the children were removed by federal officials and sent to Texas, any judicial relief had to come from a judge with jurisdiction. U.S. District Court Judge Orlando Garcia, in San Antonio, issued a 14-day extension of the previously issued order prohibiting the family's deportation. Following Garcia's decision, El Gamal, through an attorney, released her first public statement regarding the case. "My five children and I are in total shock over what they sa[w] my husband d[o] in Boulder, Colorado earlier this month," El Gamal wrote. "So many lives were ruined on that day. There is never an excuse for hurting innocent people. We have been cooperating with the authorities, who are trying their best to get to the bottom of this. We send our love to the many families who are suffering as a result of the attack." She explained the aftermath of the attack from her perspective, detailing a late-night flight and stay at an immigration jail in Texas. "This includes my two four-year-old children, my seven-year-old, my fifteen-year-old, and my oldest daughter, who just turned eighteen in jail," she wrote. "We are grieving, and we are suffering. We are treated like animals by the officers, who told us we are being punished for what my husband is accused of doing. But why punish me? Why punish my four-year-old children? Why punish any of us, who did nothing wrong?" Since coming to America three years ago, El Gamal claimed the family "tried to do everything right," obtaining work permits, learning English and teaching the U.S.'s official language to other immigrants. "We have always tried to be good neighbors, cooking food for those around us regardless of whether they are Muslim, Christian or Jewish," she wrote. "I do not judge anyone based on his religion. If your heart is good, that's enough." The reference to neighbors practicing other religions comes weeks after Fox News Digital interviewed an observant Jewish family who recently moved into the same neighborhood as the suspect's family. In the days following the attack, David and Rivkah Costello described the horror of finding out that their neighbor had been charged in connection to the alleged hate crime. As the couple unpacked boxes, they said El Gamal showed up at their door, adorned with a mezuzah, offering cupcakes to welcome them to the neighborhood. "All I want is to give my children good lives," El Gamal continued in statement. "My oldest daughter volunteered at a hospital; she has a 4.5 GPA and wants to become a doctor, to help people in this country. My kids want to go to school, they want to see their friends and deal with their grief from recent weeks. But here they can't sleep. They cry throughout the day, asking me, 'When will we get to go home?'" She claimed when they were first detained, her children were "forced" to watch officials "rough-up" another detainee, adding they lacked privacy and decent meals. "Only mothers can truly understand what we are going through," El Gamal wrote. "I did everything for my kids. It has been two weeks in jail, how much longer will we be here for something we didn't do? How much longer until the damage to my children is irreversible? It has been so hard for me to stay strong for my kids. I'm so tired. I ask the American people, with all my heart, to please listen to our story and help us."
Campaign ME
02-05-2025
- Business
- Campaign ME
Podcast: El Gamal on going beyond trends, transactions, performance and promotion
On the latest episode of Campaign Middle East's On The Record podcast, Ahmed El Gamal, an Executive Director of Marketing with more than 15 years of experience within the brand and marketing industry, who discusses the tug of war between brand and performance; the move past transactional agency-client relationships and the uberification of services; and the importance of knowing how and when to jump on the bandwagon of trends without placing brand safety and brand consistency at risk. El Gamal reveals that the Middle East brand and marketing industry has, indeed, been overcorrecting towards performance, taking examples of brands such as Airbnb that have great success stories by doing the opposite – focusing on brand. 'Brand and performance doesn't have to be a tug of war,' El Gamal says, 'It's not about brand versus performance. It's about brand and performance. Ultimately, if you treat them as separate, and have separate teams for them with different KPIs – that's where the problems arise. The role of brand is to create demand and desirability, which is so much more than awareness. Brand is demand, which helps you raise your pricing power. So, if you're able to create value through brand initiatives or demand initiatives, then performance supplements it.' El Gamal adds, 'Performance is like sugar, and brand is like nutrition. We need both. But if these teams are cycling in different directions and they're not speaking to one another, then you have a tug of war-type situation and this is where the problem arises.' The conversation also delves into the ongoing debate about agency-client relationships, which have, reportedly, become transactional in a world where we preach the buzzwords of relationships, relevance, empathy and positive experiences. Without mincing words, El Gamal calls for immediate change, saying, 'If you have a transaction with an agency, expect a service. If you treat them like a partner, you get great work, you get credibility, creativity and trust. This is a two-way street. Brands shouldn't treat agencies as vendors. Clients and agencies both have a responsibility to get to know each other a lot better. While their are campaign KPIs, it's also important to make the effort to understand the bigger picture.' El Gamal adds, 'Agencies tend to live in the fourth P of marketing – promotion. And if you live there not knowing the nuances of the business, the reasoning and strategy behind the other three Ps of pricing, place and product, and if you don't know the client's KPIs and if the client doesn't provide clarity on the agency's KPIs, then the model doesn't work. Sometimes during the RFP process, there's a chemistry meeting, but even this needs to go deeper for brand and to build meaningful relationships.' He then shares his take on when marketers to say 'No' to tempting trends and brands such as Duolingo that are perfecting the balance between leading on trends while staying on-brand. El Gamal also opens up about the pain points within the procurement and pitching process, from the lack of detailed briefs to the lack of clear evaluation criteria and clear feedback loops. Before he concludes the conversation, El Gamal shares a key message, 'A lot of the focus among marketers has been scaling and speed. If we take a second to pause and reflect, we'll realise that the brands and marketers that win aren't those that focus on scale and speed, but those who choose to focus on trust and credibility – whether that's internally or externally. If brands don't focus on building trust and credibility with their respective audiences, they will begin to struggle really soon.' For more such insights from a very intriguing conversation, watch the full video above.
