Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Will the Tánaiste answer the question on whether he will sign the statement? We need action and not just words from the international community about what is going on. Democracy activists who were gathered in Tahrir Square to celebrate the third anniversary of the Egyptian revolution were targeted by snipers and 64 people were killed. That is what the el-Sisi military regime is doing to the very people who led the revolution against Mubarak. Many of them are now being imprisoned just for engaging in protest. An Irish citizen, Ibrahim Halawa, is still detained in Egypt. There is vicious repression. Whatever Egypt might say internationally about its commitment to democracy, in reality it is crushing the democratic revolution. The regime is hounding and persecuting journalists, students and human rights activists. Amnesty International and every human rights organisation say the situation is deteriorating to a terrible extent. Will the Tánaiste sign the statement and will Ireland and the international community add weight to the demands they put on the Egyptian regime to respect democracy and human rights?

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