Halawa siblings address protesters

The Irish-Egyptian siblings being held in Egypt may have been on the security forces’ watch list after they addressed hundreds of thousands of protesters several weeks ago.

The three Halawa sisters and their brother, all from Dublin, spoke to the crowd at Rabaa Square in Cairo, which was a focal point for supporters of ousted Egypt president Mohamed Morsi before the crackdown on demonstrations began.

Omaima Halawa, 21, her sisters, Fatima, 23, and Soumaia, 27, and their brother, Ibrihim, 17, who are Irish citizens, spoke against the backdrop of an Egyptians Abroad for Democracy banner.