He was arrested in August 2013 with hundreds more people for an alleged role in violence during protests in Cairo – charges he, witnesses, and his lawyers all deny.
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Human rights activists have expressed concern at the ongoing detention of Mr Halawa, who they have branded a “Prisoner of Conscience”.
The European Parliament has overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for the release of Irishman Ibrahim Halawa from an Egyptian jail. These related, among other things, to the circumstances of his arrest and detention as a minor, his lack of access to justice and right to fair trial, and his right to freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.
Caoilfhionn Gallagher, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, London, which represents the 20-year-old, said: “Our client has been held without trial in horrendous, inhumane conditions. We hope it’s not too late for Ibrahim”. The trial has been repeatedly postponed.
Ibrahim Halawa’s court case has been adjourned yet again.
Colm O’Gorman from Amnesty International said Ibrahim should be “immediately and unconditionally released”. “With lots of of defendants, lots of whom have been imprisoned for months or years, it’s extremely probably that at the least one might be unable to attend courtroom on any given day”.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry says that the European Parliament’s call for the release of an Irish-Egyptian teenager detained at a protest two years ago amounts to “a violation of the independence” of its judiciary.
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“The Egyptian Government – including through contacts between the Taoiseach and President al-Sisi – is in no doubt as to the Irish Government’s strong interest in Mr Halawa’s welfare”, he said.
