Twitter in Egypt erupts as Aya Hijazi meets with Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed back to the United States Aya Hijazi, an Egyptian-American charity worker who was recently released from jail in Egypt.

Hijazi, who returned aboard a government jet accompanied by her family and top American officials last week, met with Trump in the Oval office on Friday.

The freed charity worker and lawyer had spent almost three years in Jail on charges involving her NGO, Belady.

"We are very happy to have Aya back home and it's a great honor to have her in the Oval Office, with her brother," Trump said. The U.S. president declined to answer any questions about her case.

The New York Times had reported that her release had been agreed on even before Trump had met Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi last month.

Following their acquittal, Hijazi and her husband vowed to stay in Egypt and continue their charity work in the country.

Their arrival in the U.S has been described as a sudden turn of events and caused a stir on social media in Egypt.

Popular opinion has been divided over the incident. Here are some samples of what people are saying: 

"The spy, Aya Hijazi, in the White House with Trump's daughter."

"I agree that Aya Hejazi should be stripped of her Egyptian nationality."  

"Even if Aya Hejazi were helping street children, the fact that she traveled to the U.S. on a private jet and sat next to the U.S. President in the White house means that all your arguments defending her are based on lies."  

"Those that are desperately accusing Aya of being a spy should remind themselves that an Egyptian court dropped all charges against her and all the other defendants in the case."  

"Joke of the day... we must punish Aya Hijazi by stripping her of her Egyptian citizenship."  

"If it turns out that Aya Hijazi had been detained for three years on baseless charges, then it's a catastrophe. And if it turns out that she was released on Trump's orders (regardless of her innocence) then that's an even bigger one."

"If Aya Hijazi is a spy, then why did you let her go? 

On the other hand, Aya Hijazi was acquitted, so why did you imprison her for 3 years?

If she is a traitor... then why did you let her fly out of the airport?" 

Hijazi, along with her husband Mohamed Hassanein, founded an NGO called Belady in 2013 to help Egypt's street children.

Egyptian authorities arrested Hijazi, Hassanein, and others who worked for the NGO in May 2014 on charges that include engaging in human trafficking, kidnapping, sexual exploitation, and torture.

All detainees in the case had maintained their innocence. Their detention was condemned by various human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch.

Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch even called the case "a travesty of justice."

Given the fact that Hijazi holds a U.S. passport, many had demanded that her high-profile case be discussed during al-Sisi's recent visit to the U.S.

It was later revealed that Hijazi's lawyers had “worked closely with the Trump administration to ensure that her "case [would be] prioritized at the highest levels," The New York Times reported.