Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Ceann Comhairle affording me the opportunity to raise this very important issue. I am pleased that the Minister, Deputy Charlie Flanagan, is here to reply.

The Minister will be aware that Ibrahim Halawa has been in an Egyptian prison for 666 days, or one year, nine months and 28 days. The initial judicial process has been continually delayed and we now hear that the judge dealing with the case is to retire from his post soon. An eighth court date for his trial has been set for the beginning of August, his case having been adjourned seven times from the beginning of this ordeal. The incarceration of Ibrahim has caused, quite understandably, great upset to his family and friends. As he is a citizen of this country, we must be concerned for his well-being and hope and act for his release.

We learned yesterday that Ibrahim has decided to go on hunger strike to highlight his continuing incarceration. This is a most grave development and one which should give urgency to the Government's interaction with the authorities in Egypt to seek a resolution to this deeply troubling situation.

Fianna Fáil has been raising this issue, both in the Dáil and in the other House and at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, for almost two years. We are continually informed that officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are in regular contact with Ibrahim Halawa, yet, unfortunately, we have not witnessed any significant progress in his case. I am not for one moment suggesting that our officials are not working hard on this case. From what I have heard and from what the Minister has said to me in person and in replies to parliamentary questions, the opposite is the case. Our officials are to be commended on their efforts. However, I am concerned that Government efforts appear to have hit a wall in trying to advance Ibrahim's case. We all understand that Egypt has undergone some tumultuous years. The justice system appears to be struggling to cope with the political changes which have been witnessed by the international community. This seems to be one element in the ongoing delays being put on Ibrahim's case. The fact that he is being tried as part of a mass trial is also unjust, unfair and a gross abuse of his human rights. We have been told that Ibrahim is being accused of acts of violence, yet Amnesty International researchers who were present at the time in question have stated that Ibrahim could not have been involved in such acts. They are very strong in their view on that aspect.

Looking at the basic facts of the case, one's heart could not but be moved. Ibrahim is 19 years old. He comes from a loving family who want him home. He is a citizen of Ireland who is entitled to the full rigorous support of our State in being allowed to return home, even if that means on bail. He was arrested due to his political involvement in Egypt and Amnesty International has stated that he is a prisoner of conscience, not of crime.

I believe that it is time for the Government to use all of its influence, both in the European Union and with our American partners, to put pressure on the Egyptian authorities to release Ibrahim Halawa once and for all and reunite him with his family.

See this speech in context