News Conference in DC Shed Light on US Citizen’s Ordeal in Israeli Detention

IQNA – A news conference was held in Washington, DC, Monday about the ordeal an American citizen and grandmother from New Orleans has gone through in Israeli detention.

Samaher Esmail was recently kidnapped, beaten, and denied access to medicine by Israeli forces in the West Bank.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the United States’ largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, held the news conference at its Washington, D.C. headquarters with the sons of Samaher Esmail.

As mentioned during the press conference, the family’s Arab attorney wrote a memorandum documenting the abuses Ms. Esmail has endured since the start of her detention.

Last Monday, CAIR called for the release of Esmail. Last Wednesday, CAIR also sent a letter to the US State Department, urging expedited action in demanding her release.

Congressman Troy A. Carter (D-LA-2) also reported on Twitter (formerly known as X) that his office is concerned about Esmail and is “in contact with the American Embassy and the State Department to inquire why a US citizen is being held.”

This incident was also covered by Louisiana NBC news station WDSU6 in the article titled: “Family: New Orleans grandmother kidnapped, beaten in West Bank of Palestine.”

Last week, CAIR also called the Biden administration to demand the release of two US citizens reportedly kidnapped overnight in Gaza by Israeli regime forces and to save other Americans trapped in the Gaza Strip by securing a ceasefire.

Sky News reports that Israeli forces have detained two American brothers – Borak Alagha, 18, and Hashem Alagha, 20, two brothers born in the Chicago area – and their Canadian father in an overnight raid on their home in Gaza. 

Source: Cair.com