August 28 Could Seal Ayman Soliman’s Fate

Ayman Soliman Survived Egyptian Torture. ICE Wants to Send Him Back. This Court Has One Last Chance to Stop It.

UPDATE — AUGUST 12, 2025: Ayman Soliman appeared virtually in Cleveland Immigration Court today for a procedural hearing. The judge declined to rule on bond, citing lack of jurisdiction, and ordered both sides to submit filings within 10 days. Soliman’s next court hearing is now scheduled for August 28. His legal team continues to fight the asylum revocation and has condemned Butler County Jail for placing him in solitary confinement earlier this month, allegedly to block legal access and intimidate him. The clock is ticking — and once the current restraining order expires, DHS could move him anywhere.

If Ayman Soliman is deported to Egypt, he would be returning to a regime that has already tortured him once — a regime he fled after being imprisoned for his journalism and activism during the Arab Spring. In 2018, the United States granted him asylum precisely because his life was at risk. That risk has not diminished. In fact, it has grown worse. Egypt continues to persecute political dissidents, especially those who have embarrassed the regime abroad or who are tied to religious organizations. Soliman checks every box.

The charity he once worked with in Egypt, Al-Jameya al Shareya, is now being linked — retroactively and questionably — to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egyptian authorities label as a terrorist threat. Despite the U.S. never designating the Brotherhood as a terrorist group, that label is enough to get someone disappeared in Cairo. Add to that the fact that Soliman has now filed lawsuits against U.S. federal agencies, generating international press attention, and you have a perfect storm: an outspoken Muslim leader, formerly jailed for dissent, now publicly challenging the American and Egyptian security apparatus.

In his own words, Soliman has said deportation would be “a death sentence.” That’s not rhetorical. That’s the lived reality of someone who has already survived one crackdown and knows exactly how political prisoners are treated. Egypt is not a safe destination. Its prisons are full of journalists, activists, and former asylum-seekers who were sent back by governments too cowardly to protect them a second time. Sending Ayman Soliman back wouldn’t just be a betrayal of American asylum law — it would be a slow-motion execution.

---

If you want to help Ayman Soliman, now is the time. His next hearing is scheduled for August 28, and if the court lifts the current restraining order, ICE can move him anywhere — Louisiana, Arizona, or worse — vanishing him into the depths of a detention system built on silence. You can call ICE’s Cincinnati field office, pressure Butler County Jail for humane treatment, and contact your local representatives to demand accountability. His legal team has filed emergency petitions, but public pressure is what turns paperwork into protection.

You can also show up — literally or digitally. Join local protests, organize vigils, and flood social media with his story using hashtags like #FreeAymanSoliman. Support the Muslim Legal Fund of America by donating to his defense, and submit letters of support if you're a community leader, faith worker, or healthcare professional. Every headline, phone call, or rally could be the difference between justice and a death sentence. Don’t wait for this man to be disappeared. Make noise while he can still hear it.