Ibrahim Halawa case tied to trade talks between Ireland and Egypt

Attempts to build millions of euro worth of trade deals between Ireland and Egypt could be blocked unless the Ibrahim Halawa case is “satisfactorily” resolved.

Dáil Ceann Comhairle and Fianna Fáil TD Seán Ó Fearghaíl made the comment before flying to the middle eastern country with a cross-party group of TDs for a series of high-level meetings with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and other officials.

The week-long visit d1 which will also see the Irish delegation today meet directly with Mr Halawa, who has been held in a Cairo jail without trial since August 2013 — has been organised to allow future bilateral deal discussions on communications, agriculture, trade and tourism.

However, speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland programme, Mr Ó Fearghaíl said any potential agreements could be blocked or scrapped entirely unless Egyptian authorities resolve the Ibrahim Halawa case.

“It’s inevitable that there’s a connection [between Irish-Egyptian deals and the Halawa case], it’s like the stone in our shoe of building relations. The key point here is this person [Ibrahim Halawa] is a young Irish citizen, a person who was a child in Irish law at the time the events occurred.

Ibrahim Halawa was arrested during a protest in Cairo in August 2013 over the then president Mohamed Morsi’s removal from power. While he has been charged and jailed alongside 100 other people over alleged incidents related to the Muslim Brotherhood, 16 planned court dates have been suspended since August 2013.

Other TDs travelling to Egypt include Labour leader Brendan Howlin, Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin and Green party leader Eamon Ryan.