Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In the scheme of the enormous political pressures in the Arab world, particularly in Egypt, Ibrahim Halawa is just one young man caught up in conflict and change. He has now been incarcerated for three years and at this point and there is separation of powers in Egypt between the government and the courts. A large amount of work has been done by the Government, Ministers and diplomats in particular to lobby on his behalf and, importantly, to support him through consular visits. There have been different representations made by Irish political parties both to Egypt and to the Egyptian Ambassador in Ireland. None of these has borne any fruit.

The Chilcot report published yesterday brings us back to what was a disastrous decade following the wrong decision to invade Iraq and prosecute a war there. There was a period when the Arab Spring across north Africa and other parts of the Arab world stood for hope and a development of new forms of democracy there.

It is disappointing, notwithstanding the spirit of the Arab Spring, that this young man has now been in jail for such a long period without any certainty as to when the courts may deal with his situation. There are remedies that could be used by the Egyptian Government and which have been used in a small number of other cases, such as deportation and law 140. On behalf of the Labour Party, I plead with the Egyptian Government to address this individual case.

Like others, I have met various members of the family here in Ireland. I have also made direct representations to the Egyptian authorities and to the Egyptian ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Soha Gendi. This motion is appropriate. Ibrahim wants to be restored to his family in Ireland. His family has campaigned tirelessly on his behalf for all the years of his incarceration. The Egyptian legal and trial structure is complex and quite different from ours, but nonetheless the Irish Government can give undertakings that if the Egyptian Government were to use the flexibility I understand is available within the Egyptian legal code, he could be restored to his family. Relations between Egypt and Ireland go back a long time. The consular officials who have visited him continually since his incarceration have been very important in helping both to maintain better conditions for him and in keeping his spirits up. It is very difficult to be imprisoned at such a young age, at 17, when technically still a child, to be held in prison and to have trial dates postponed endlessly. In the run-up to each trial date a hope has been held out that a resolution could be found and then those hopes are dashed. I hope all the support Ibrahim has received, both from his own family and through the Dáil today, through a common expression on this motion, will help to sustain him in what will continue to be extremely difficult circumstances until eventually he is freed and he is restored to his life in Ireland, as a citizen of this country, and to his immediate family.

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