THERE have been more urgent calls for action to secure the release of imprisoned Irish teen Ibrahim Halawa.
It follows the recent execution of a prisoner convicted by the Egyptian courts following the overthrow of the government two years ago.
The 19-tear-old has been detained in an Egyptian prison since he was arrested alongside his sisters during a protest in Ramsis when at least 97 people died, in August 2013.
Ibrahim and his sisters Somaia, Fatima and Omaima, who live in Firhouse, were arrested at the al-Fateh mosque while attending a march against the ousting of former president Mohammed Morsi.
The sisters were allowed return to Dublin after three months.
However, Ibrahim has been charged, along with 493 others, of murder, attempted murder and participating in an illegal protest.
He had been due to face a court in Cairo, but the date has been put back, for the forth time, to March 29.
Now there are fresh fears for his safety after the first execution of a pro-Morsi protester.
As a member of the Foreign Affairs committee, Senator Mark Daly called for the Government to intercede with the Egyptian President and seek Ibrahim’s release after Mahmoud Ramadan was executed.
A motion requesting the Egyptian ambassador to meet with the foreign affairs committee to discuss the Halawa case was due to be discussed last week.
The senator, who is the Fianna Fail Spokesperson for the Irish Overseas and Diaspora, is also asking the Taoiseach to request that the Egyptian President allow Ibrahim to return to Ireland and his studies.
“Visits by Irish officials to the prisons is activity masquerading as action,
? Senator Daly said.
“What this Irish citizen needs is Government intervention and action.
“Other countries have managed to get their citizens released after government intervention including Australia.
“The Government lacks urgency,
? Senator Daly added.
“Recently it has been the case that foreign defendants are eligible for deportation to their home countries, so why has out Government failed to pursue this route?
“An Amnesty international report into the Halawa case has shown he is innocent of all charges and should be released.
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In a previous response to Southside People in relation to the Halawa case, the office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charles Flanagan, defended their level of involvement.
A spokesperson for Minister Flanagan said officials, including Ireland’s Ambassador to Egypt, Isolde Moylan, had visited Ibrahim on no fewer than 34 separate occasions up to Saturday, February 7.
“Minister Flanagan has taken a very active and sustained interest in the case,
? the spokesperson said.
“On his first day in office Minister Flanagan called his Egyptian counterpart, Foreign Minister Shoukry, to raise the Government’s concerns about the continued detention of Ibrahim Halawa and the importance of due process in his case.
“The minister has since discussed this case with Minister Shoukry on a number of occasions, including at two face-to-face meetings. The minister has continuously asked that the charges against Ibrahim Halawa be reviewed, and that he be released and permitted to return home to Ireland.
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The spokesperson pointed out that Minister Flanagan had also raised the case
“numerous times
? with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and her successor HRVP Federica Mogherini.