Locked Up Abroad, Still

As friends and family on Wednesday will mark 28th birthday, many are asking what is being done to secure his release from an Egyptian prison.

The Oakland Gardens man was arrested on June 12 on suspicion of spying on the new Egyptian government for Israel. He arrived in Egypt in May to participate in the resettlement of African refugees, on a service trip organized by Emory University, where he was a second year law student.

Grapel was able to communicate with his parents on Monday, and "sounded OK," a friend from Emory, Irene Suleman, told Patch.

Some wonder why there hasn't been any progress in bringing him home. "I can't believe everyone has forgotten already," said supporter JoyAnn Yaakovah. "I feel so sorry for him," she added.

“[T]his travesty seems to have been forgotten,” said Eugenia Karydas,” a patient of Grapel’s father, Dr. Daniel Grapel, a podiatrist with a Bayside practice. “His parents have a lawyer and some politicians tried to help early on but now I see nothing,” she added.

Grapel had reportedly interned for Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-Bayside, who is the Ranking Democrat in the House Subcommittee on the Middle East, and has high-ranking contacts in the region.

“Yes the Congressman is in continuous contact with them over this case,” a spokesman for Ackerman said when asked if the Congressman had been tapping his Egyptian connections. He did not elaborate.

Karydas hopes to see more movement to free Grapel. “Perhaps if there is community outrage the politicians might rekindle their efforts,” she said.

While the Obama Administration had previously requested $1.551 Billion in aid to Egypt for 2012, a report published in June by the Congressional Research Service raises questions about contributing to a post-Mubarak Egypt. Ackerman’s office did not say if Grapel’s detention will add steam to any movement to cut aid to Egypt.