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Ibrahim Halawa released from prison in Egypt

Updated 10.45am Ibrahim Halawa has been released from prison in Egypt. The 21-year-old Dubliner w...
Newstalk
Newstalk

06.26 20 Oct 2017


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Ibrahim Halawa released from p...

Ibrahim Halawa released from prison in Egypt

Newstalk
Newstalk

06.26 20 Oct 2017


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Updated 10.45am

Ibrahim Halawa has been released from prison in Egypt.

The 21-year-old Dubliner was freed from custody in Cairo at around 11pm Irish time last night.

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The Irish Embassy is providing support to Mr Halawa in Egypt.

It comes a month after he was acquitted of all charges connected to mass protests in Cairo in August 2013.

A statement on the Free Ibrahim Halawa Facebook page confirmed the news, saying: "We can't thank enough all those who worked so hard for Ibrahim's release, we owe you all so much."

Ibrahim's sister Nosayba, who was there to greet him in Egypt, fainted when she saw him.

His other sister Fatima described the moment when the phone call from Egypt came through to the Halawa house in Dublin:

Speaking in Brussels, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was "really delighted" to hear about Ibrahim's release.

He told reporters: "He's receiving full consular assistance at the moment, so we're helping him to get back to Ireland where he'll be reunited with his family - and hopefully he'll get on with his life and his studies.

"He's spent far too long in Egyptian prison. I'm delighted that he's now out [...] I'd ask people to respect his family's wishes for privacy."

President Michael D Higgins said the news will be a great relief for Ibrahim's family, stating: "It will be welcomed by all those who were concerned for him in his long ordeal of imprisonment.

"I wish Ibrahim Halawa well on his journey home."

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney noted there are some formalities to complete before Ibrahim can fly home.

In a statement, he also said: "This is a great moment for Ibrahim and his family - a moment for celebration, and a moment for savouring freedom, and I want to wish Ibrahim Halawa and his family all health and happiness for the future." 

Peter Greste, the Australian journalist who shared a cell with Ibrahim Halawa for several months in Egypt, said the young Irish man's release was "bloody awesome news".

Dublin MEP Lynn Boylan says Mr Halawa was first sent to a police cell for a debriefing and then released.

She added: "Now the focus turns to bringing him home to Ireland."

Ibrahim Halawa released from prison in Egypt

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Mr Halawa was held in an Egyptian jail for four years after his arrest during demonstrations against the ousting of president Mohammed Morsi.

He faced trial with hundreds of other defendants, with proceedings adjourned more than two dozen times before last month's verdict.


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