IBRAHIM HALAWA is expected back in court today for a verdict on his trial.
Halawa (21), an Irish citizen, was arrested during a protest in 2013 in support of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi who had been ousted from power in a military coup.
The hearing of Halawa’s case was delayed 28 times before his legal team finally had a chance to defend him in court in early August. Halawa’s verdict was then due on 28 August, however, it was adjourned until today.
Following the postponement, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar spoke on the phone with the Egyptian president and expressed his disappointment at the delay in the verdict.
A spokesperson for the Taoiseach’s department said that Varadkar made it clear to Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi that his priority was to secure Halawa’s return to Ireland as quickly as possible.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney said that the lack of verdict in August was “frustrating”.
“This is very frustrating for Ibrahim Halawa and for his family, who were expecting some definitive news, and I fully share that sense of disappointment and frustration at yet another delay in this long-running case,” he said in a statement.
Nonetheless, we will be continuing to work in support of Ibrahim and his family and doing everything we can to ensure that he is able to return to Ireland as soon as possible once the trial ends.
The family of Halawa has urged the government to take legal action against Egyptian authorities if his trial is delayed again.
Somaia Halawa said her family had recognised the efforts made by the Irish government on their brother’s behalf and said this contrasted sharply with the approach taken by Varadkar’s predecessor, Enda Kenny.
We, as a family, did have a problem – we did suffer – to get a sense that this government wants to bring Ibrahim out. With the new government, I just believe the fact that they’ve tried, the fact that they’ve requested, they wanted to talk to Ibrahim.
The family will petition the government to take legal action against Egypt if Halawa’s trial is postponed again.
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