Yousef Zada, Egypt's Consul General in New York, said that Egyptian-American journalist and human rights activist Mona Eltahawy’s legal situation is not serious, as she only faces charges for spraying a poster.
Eltahawy was arrested Tuesday while defacing a pro-Israel ad with spray paint in a New York subway station. A video published by the New York Post showed the activist spraying the ad at a Times Square subway station while another woman who supported the billboard's content, Pamela Hall, was standing against the wall to prevent her from doing so.
“In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel, defeat Jihad,” read the billboard, which was put up by the anti-Muslim American Freedom Defense Initiative led by Pamela Geller.
Zada explained that the charges do not include anything that affects US national security, noting that the judge released her on bail based on this fact, according to the consulate’s contacts with the local police.
He added that the Egyptian Consulate in New York has taken action in the case the moment it learned of Eltahawy’s detention, particularly since she is a face well-known in the American media, as she is usually hosted by many TV stations to provide political analysis of the latest developments in Egypt since the 25 January revolution.
Zeda stressed that the consulate followed up on Eltahawy’s case since it is its duty to support any Egyptian citizen in the region when facing a crisis.
Edited translation from MENA
