Dublin MEP raises plight of Irish teen

FRESH concerns have been raised for the welfare of 19-year-old Irish teenager Ibrahim Halawa whose trial was postponed in Egypt for a third time recently.

Ibrahim, who remains in an Egyptian prison since his detention in Cairo in August 2013, was arrested alongside his sisters during a protest in Ramsis when at least 97 people died.
After his third trial date passed Dublin MEP Lynn Boylan pleaded with the Egyptian authorities to release the teen.

Speaking from Brussels, Ms Boylan said:

“My immediate thoughts are with Ibrahim himself and with his family. It must be a most frustrating time for them all.

“Ibrahim is now in prison without trial since August 2013 and the constant postponement of his trial must be of grave concern to all.

“I am pleading with Egypt’s government to release Ibrahim now. There is nothing to be gained by incarcerating Ibrahim, who Amnesty deems to be a prisoner of conscious, any longer.

“As a new MEP one my first actions was to secure cross party political support from 27 MEPs from all groupings to sign a letter calling for Ibrahim’s release.

“I have also spoken on his behalf in the Strasbourg Plenary session and I am currently awaiting a response to my requested meeting with the High Representative of the European Union of Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini.

“I will be asking that the High Representative support my request for Ibrahim’s immediate release.

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Ms Boylan added:

“I would also like to take this opportunity to ask the Irish public to contact the Egyptian Embassy in Dublin and to ask for Ibrahim’s release.

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Ibrahim was 17-years-old at the time of his arrest and just before Christmas members of the Halawa family and local representatives gathered outside the Egyptian Embassy in Dublin to mark the young man’s 19th birthday.

His cause has also been taken up by Amnesty International that has declared Ibrahim an Irish Prisoner of Conscience.

Speaking to Southside People from her Firhouse home before Christmas, Ibrahim’s sister Somaia (28), who had been arrested with Ibrahim but later released, appealed to our readers to help the campaign to get her brother released.

“There was a good turn out for the candle lit protest outside the embassy but we need to keep fighting for Ibrahim’s release,

? she said previously.

“We have an ongoing campaign to put pressure on the authorities to release Ibrahim.

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but we need all the help we can get.

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