A video circulating online shows two brothers who protest against the war in Gaza being fired in the permanent mission of Egypt at the UN in New York before being handcuffed by the police earlier this week.
The brothers and sisters were identified by their parents like Yasin Elsammak, 22, and Alsamak, 15, who, according to them, are both American citizens
Demotter Husam Khaled, who recorded the incident on Wednesday, said he had run after trying to lock the doors of the Egyptian mission, but came back when he noticed that the brothers did not do so. Khaled said he had asked Yasin, who brought his brother, to film the demonstration in case he was arrested and lost his phone.
Khaled video clips have shared with NBC News Show the brothers are seized outside the building and attacked the ground. A spectator is understood to call for help and shout: “They bring the children inside the building.”
Khaled said that Yasin had been struck in the neck with a chain and that Ali was pinned against a wall.
“I said to them:” It was me, let them go, they did nothing, “said Khaled.
In another video, Khaled, speaking in Arabic, asks one of the men who emerges from the building if he follows the instructions of Badr Abdeatty, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration. Man answers yes.
Tensions broke out between the demonstrators and the officials of the Egyptian embassy after several Arabic speaking media published a video which, according to them, showed a telephone call disclosed between Abdelatty and Emad Hanna, the Egyptian ambassador to Hague. The video, which has not been verified independently by NBC News, seems to show that Abdeatty asked the diplomatic staff to “grasp” and “drag” the demonstrators in their buildings and call the police.
The Egyptian mission at the United Nations, at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Egyptian Embassies in Paris, Rome and Hague did not immediately respond to requests for comments from NBC News.
In Wednesday videos shared by Khaled, The officers of the New York police department are seen in the building and who go out later with the two handcuffed brothers.
The police said that Yasin had been accused of assault and a 15 -year -old child had been accused of assault and strangulation in the injury to two staff of the Egyptian mission. Two members of the Egyptian mission staff refused medical care on the scene, said the department. The police did not name the minor, however, Ali’s father identified him as the teenager charged.
Yasin had no history of criminal history, police said. Authorities are not authorized to disclose minors’ files.
The authorities can enter foreign embassies and consulates with the authorization of the country’s ambassador. They can also respond in demanding circumstances, such as an ongoing struggle, said NYPD spokesperson.
The parents of the brothers, who were not at the demonstration, said that Yasin’s charges had been reduced to an offense and that those were abandoned before the family court. They said that Yasin’s throat was swollen and that he had trouble breathing after the incident.
“Our sons were kidnapped and beaten on American soil, then the officers of the United States of America came to arrest my sons,” said their father, Akram Elsammak.
Elsammak and his wife, Olga, of American citizens who immigrated decades from Egypt and Russia, respectively, and raised their children in New York, said their sons had joined the demonstration to ask for help to reach the children in Gaza.
“This is the crime of my children,” said Akram Elsammak. “They say:” Let the children eat and have medication and have water. “
From our life, which is described as a community organization led by Palestinians in New York, said on Wednesday in a press release on social networks that the incident marks “the extension of the repression campaign of Egypt beyond its own borders and on American soil”.
Egypt, with Qatar and the United States, has coordinated cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas throughout the war. Some have called Egypt and blamed the country to deepen the humanitarian crisis by allowing Israel to block trips to the Egyptian-Gaza border. Egypt rejected this criticism, claiming that all blame resides only with Israel, which prevented 5,000 aid trucks from crossing Rafah from Sinai, according to Abdellaty.
