00:00Two brothers filming a protest over the war in Gaza outside an Egyptian diplomatic building in Manhattan on August 20th
00:07have been arrested and charged with felony assault and strangulation.
00:11However, according to video footage by an Egyptian activist and acquired by the Associated Press,
00:16Egyptian government personnel dragged the two off the street and into the building.
00:23Yazan El-Samak is 22 years old and says inside the building,
00:27the Egyptian officials threw them to the ground, beat and whipped them with a metal chain.
00:32And once we were inside the mission, they continued to beat me with the metal chain.
00:37I have bruises all over my body.
00:39And then they took my cafe, which is a Palestinian scarf that I was wearing.
00:43They tied it around my neck and pulled it extremely hard to the point where I was being suffocated.
00:49In those seconds, I felt like I was going to die.
00:52New York City police arrested El-Samak and his 15-year-old brother,
00:56accusing them of assault and strangulation.
00:59However, the evidence from eyewitnesses and video footage seems to contradict the version of events told to the police by Egyptian officials.
01:07I expect the very least is, you know, when the NYPD, who are supposedly supposed to be there to protect U.S. citizens,
01:14come and they actually arrest me and let those who oppress me and infringe upon my rights,
01:22they let them walk free.
01:23So I felt very disappointed at that moment.
01:25When El-Samak's lawyer tried to press charges against the Egyptian officials who allegedly attacked him,
01:30the police refused to take the case, saying it was outside their jurisdiction, the Associated Press reports.
01:36According to international law, diplomatic officials are legally protected and have diplomatic immunity,
01:42which shields them from being arrested or prosecuted for many crimes where they're stationed.
01:46An Egyptian official told the police, as stated in the official criminal complaint,
01:51that El-Samak hit him with a metal chain and this caused the official's hands to swell and hurt, the AP reports.
01:58El-Samak denies the allegation.
02:01El-Samak's attorney told the AP that the NYPD and district attorney's office has seen the footage
02:06but has refused to dismiss the case against her client.
02:10Now, this altercation happened while many people around the world are protesting
02:14at Egyptian embassies and consulates, urging Egypt to help Gaza by opening the Rafah border.
02:20Egypt says it's not blocking aid to Gazans and are critical of the protest, citing property damage.
02:26For Straight Arrow News, I'm Lauren Keenan.
02:29If you want more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit san.com.
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