Taoiseach to press Egypt over latest Ibrahim Halawa delay

Supporters of Ibrahim Halawa, the young Irishman detained in an Egyptian prison for more than three years, have received mixed messages from the Irish Government about efforts to free him, after his trial was postponed for the 16th time.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he intended contacting Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about the case “as a matter of urgency — probably in the next week”.

However, he also said he had been in touch with Sisi twice already. “He made it perfectly clear to me that he is not in a position to interfere with the judicial process, that he can only use his presidential pardon powers once the case has been delivered upon.”