Written answers

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Consular Services Representations

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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23. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the contact he has had with the Egyptian authorities in order to secure the release of an Irish citizen (details supplied); if he has been in contact with this person's family; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23174/14]

Photo of Eamon GilmoreEamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that I have raised my concerns at this continued detention without trial with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Nabil Fahmy, on 11 November and 23 December 2013. The Embassy of Ireland in Cairo has been in sustained and direct contact with the Egyptian authorities in relation to the case. Our Ambassador Isolde Moylan and her colleagues in Egypt have met with senior officials from the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Justice, and the office of the Prosecutor General. Consular officials in Dublin met with family representatives on 17 August, 19 September, 24 October and 16 December 2013, 16 January, 6 March and on 1 and 21 May 2014. Consular visits were made to this individual on 24 August, 8 September, 15 September, 10 October, 24 October, 30 October, 10 November, 21 November, 3 December and 18 December 2013 and 8 January, 26 January, 13 February, 23 March, 9 April and 7 May 2014.

In March 2014, the Minister for Justice wrote to the Egyptian Minister for Justice Abdel-Moneim Othman, raising the Government’s concerns at the individual’s continued detention and requesting the opportunity to speak about this case as soon as possible. I wrote to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Catherine Ashton, on 9 May 2014, asking that she raise her concerns on this individual’s case in her contacts with the Egyptian authorities. The EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Mr. Stavros Lambrinidis raised this case with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Nabil Fahmy, and the Prosecutor General, Hisham Barakat, during his visit to Cairo in February 2014.

However the individual named is still before the judicial system in Egypt and we are precluded from getting involved in the judicial process. The Irish Embassy and the Consular Assistance Section at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will continue to give all appropriate consular assistance.

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