Teenage inventor refuses to return to Egypt following travel ban
Young inventor Abdallah Essam deliberately missed his flight back to Egypt on Sunday morning, refusing to return home.
In an interview with Al Jazeerah Mubasher, the young investor said he has no future back home and risks being arrested upon arrival at Cairo Airport.
His younger brother Abdel Rahman Essam told independently owned newspaper Al-Shorouk that his family still does not know what is happening with their elder son. “All we know is he does not want to return home,” he said.
Abdel Rahman speculates that his brother’s decision is the result of difficulties he faced before traveling, including a detention order and travel ban. “This Country [the United States] respects human rights,” he said, explaining that staying in the US without legal papers wouldn’t be a problem for his brother.
Last week, the 17-year-old high school student was prohibited from boarding a plane to California to attend the International Intel Science Competition.
He was detained in April pending investigations into accusations of burning a police officer's car in Minya. His brother claimed that Abdallah was framed by people who don’t want his invention to be made.
The teenager invented glasses that reportedly allow paralyzed people to control computer screens through facial movement.
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