n Egyptian teenager accused of illegally protesting his country's government has defected to the United States after attending an international science fair for high school students in Los Angeles.
Abdullah Assem, 17, decided not to board a Cairo-bound plane Sunday for fear he would be arrested upon landing.
For the last four days he has stayed with family friends in Los Angeles County while he seeks asylum in the U.S.
Last week, Abdullah was one of 1,787 teens participating in the six-day International Science and Engineering Fair sponsored by chipmaker Intel at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
His project, "Eye Detection and Tracking-Based Communication System for Tetraplegia Patients," had qualified for the competition through one of the program's 450 preliminary science fairs. His research involved the use of eyeglasses and motion sensors to enable quadriplegics to use computers.
Abdullah was arrested April 25 in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo and accused by police of illegally protesting — apparently by flashing the banned four-fingered hand gesture showing support for ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
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