Sameh Khouzam is an Egyptian who fled Egypt in 1998 to avoid torture for being a Coptic Christian. He was detained upon his arrival and jailed in U.S. prisons for eight years. In 2004, he won a “deferral of removal” under the Convention Against Torture to prevent his deportation, and was finally released from prison in 2006. He’s been living and working in Pennsylvania since then.
But earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security informed Sameh that they’ve revoked his deferral, and he’ll be deported back to Egypt, where he’ll almost certainly be tortured for his religious beliefs, tomorrow, Friday, June 1.
The ACLU of Pennsylvania is asking all Pennsylvania state residents to call Senators Specter and Casey and Representatives Pitts and Platts this afternoon to intervene on Sameh’s behalf and stop his deportation.
UPDATE: Sameh has received a stay until June 7. Please keep up the pressure on your representatives to stop his deportation.
