Fears for Irish teen as Egypt ‘sham trial’ postponed

Amnesty has said it is gravely concerned about Irish teenager Ibrahim Halawa after the latest postponement in Egypt of what the organisation has called his “sham trial”.

Ibrahim, 19, along with his 493 co-defendants, is now scheduled to face trial on March 29, by which time he will have spent more than a year and seven months behind bars.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan, also expressed disquiet over the latest developments in Cairo.

“I am disappointed to learn of the further delay today and concerned that the Egyptian authorities continue to consider Ibrahim’s case as part of a group trial,” said Mr Flanagan.

“ I have personally raised the Government’s concerns about this case with my Egyptian counterpart on a number of occasions.”

Dublin-born Ibrahim and the other detainees are jointly charged with murder, attempted murder, and taking part in illegal protests after peaceful demonstrations he had attended were broken up by the Egyptian military in August 2013 while he was on holiday in Cairo awaiting the results of his Leaving Cert.

The detainees could face the death penalty if they are convicted yet, so far, all attempts to stage a trial have ended in farce, with no court room big enough to hold the full group and with no clear structure to the proceedings in place.

Colm O’Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, called for renewed focus by the Government here and by the EU on getting Ibrahim home to Ireland.

“We have examined the case files and there is no evidence of any of the violent charges that have been made against Ibrahim. He faces, frankly, a sham trial,” said Mr O’Gorman.

“In other such cases we have seen mass death sentences handed down for similar ‘cut and paste’ charges made against large groups of people so we’re gravely concerned about the situation.”

Mr O’Gorman said calls by the Government and the EU for Ibrahim to be afforded a fair trial made no sense in a country where the criminal justice system was not functioning to any agreed international standards.

“It is absolutely vital that all steps be taken to apply pressure on Egypt to ensure Ibrahim’s immediate and unconditional release,” said Mr O’Gorman.

“There is absolutely no point in calling for Ibrahim to be granted due process or a fair trial. There is no prospect of him getting due process or a fair trial.”

One of Ibrahim’s sisters, Nosayba Halawa, and the Irish ambassador to Egypt, Isolde Moylan, were in court when yesterday’s proceedings were adjourned.

Mr Flanagan said officials in Dublin and Cairo were working actively on Ibrahim’s case.

“My department will continue to take all appropriate action to ensure Ibrahim’s welfare, and to seek a review of his case, his release and return to his family and his studies,” said Mr Flanagan.