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Irish prisoner Ibrahim Halawa acquitted by Cairo court
Irish prisoner Ibrahim Halawa acquitted by Cairo court
After four years in jail, Irish-Egyptian free speech prisoner Ibrahim Halawa has been acquitted of all charges by a Cairo court.
2 min read
Halawa is expected to be freed in the coming days [Facebook]
Irish citizen Ibrahim Halawa has been acquitted of all charges by a Cairo court, with hopes that his four year imprisonment in an Egyptian jail will soon come to an end.
Halawa and his three sisters Somaia, Fatima and Omaima - who were tried in absentia - were all acquitted of their charges, Irish broadcaster RTE reported.
Halawa reportedly jumped up and down in the courtroom once his acquittal was announced by judges.
The 21-year-old was arrested in 2013 during a clampdown on protests against a military coup which overthrew Egypt's first democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi.
He has remained in jail every since, with activists and human rights groups pressuring European governments to help secure his release.
Supporters of Halawa say he is prisoner of conscious and has committed no crime. They have also voiced concern about his health which has been declining in recent months.
Halawa is expected to be released in the coming days. Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Twitter that the Dublin government would be looking to have him return home to his family as soon as possible.
An Egyptian court, meanwhile, sentenced US citizen Ahmed Etiwy to five years in jail for his involvement in protests against the regime.
Thousands more Egyptians remain in jail without charge after Cairo's brutal crackdown on dissent following the 2013 military coup led by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Halawa and his three sisters Somaia, Fatima and Omaima - who were tried in absentia - were all acquitted of their charges, Irish broadcaster RTE reported.
Halawa reportedly jumped up and down in the courtroom once his acquittal was announced by judges.
The 21-year-old was arrested in 2013 during a clampdown on protests against a military coup which overthrew Egypt's first democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi.
He has remained in jail every since, with activists and human rights groups pressuring European governments to help secure his release.
Supporters of Halawa say he is prisoner of conscious and has committed no crime. They have also voiced concern about his health which has been declining in recent months.
Halawa is expected to be released in the coming days. Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Twitter that the Dublin government would be looking to have him return home to his family as soon as possible.
An Egyptian court, meanwhile, sentenced US citizen Ahmed Etiwy to five years in jail for his involvement in protests against the regime.
Thousands more Egyptians remain in jail without charge after Cairo's brutal crackdown on dissent following the 2013 military coup led by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
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— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) September 18, 2017" style="color:#fff;" class="twitter-post-link" target="_blank">Twitter Post
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