THE TRIAL OF Ibrahim Halawa has been postponed for the 12th time and the Irishman will now spend at least 30 months in jail without trial.
Halawa was due to appear before a hearing today but it’s now been confirmed that this has been adjourned again until 6 March.
The 20-year-old has already been jailed since August 2013 without his case being heard.
Today’s setback is the 12th such delay in the trial with the Egyptian courts seeking to try him in a mass trial involving hundreds of people.
Halawa was jailed after he attended a Cairo demonstration supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, which had been ousted from power by the Egyptian military.
The Muslim Brotherhood had won both parliamentary and presidential elections, but after further political unrest and violence, the military assumed control.
The Dublin teenager was arrested at a protest during the height of this instability and was charged along with 493 others. They were charged with offences including murder, attempted murder and participating in an illegal protest.
Amnesty International has today described this latest delay as “an inexcusable violation of both international and Egyptian law”.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said this afternoon that the Irish Ambassador Damien Cole attended the court in Wadi al Natrun and spoke with members of the Halawa family.
Minister Charlie Flanagan says that he is concerned by this latest delay and added that his department is remaining in contact with the student and his legal team:
Despite today’s most disappointing news, my department and I remain focused on two clear objectives: First, to secure Ibrahim Halawa’s release at the earliest possible opportunity so that he may return home to his family and his studies and, second, to provide for his welfare while he remains in detention.
The European Parliament has also adopted a resolution seeking his immediate release.
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