The Chairman of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade Pat Breen visited Wadi Al-Natrun prison in Cairo for a 90 minute meeting with Ibrahim Halawa on Wednesday afternoon. This follows a meeting between Deputy Breen and members of the Halawa family at Leinster House on Monday.
Deputy Breen said that he found Ibrahim in reasonable spirits, despite the serious challenges of his detention over the past two years.
“Earlier today [Wednesday] I met with Ibrahim Halawa in the Wadi Al-Natrun prison. I found him a young man in reasonable spirits in what are very trying circumstances. On behalf of the committee, I relayed our ongoing interest in his case and the concerns of his family in relation to his health and well-being and that I would bring these concerns to the relevant authorities. Ibrahim was appreciative of my presence and thanked the committee for its ongoing interest in his case. I expressed the committee’s continued support to him to ensure his speedy release.
“The visit was facilitated by the prison authorities and, on behalf of the committee. I wish to thank the Brigadier General there for his courtesy throughout the visit. I also wish to acknowledge the tireless work of our diplomats at the Irish Embassy in Cairo on this case, and thank them for accompanying me on this visit.”
Deputy Breen also met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry for a meeting which covered a wide range of bilateral issues. Deputy Breen also took the opportunity to raise Ibrahim Halawa’s concerns. Other high-level meetings with senior officials from the Ministry of the Interior are also scheduled, as well as a meeting with the CEO of Egypt Air.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.