Ibrahim Halawa acquitted after 4 years in prison

MENA

Published: 2017-09-18 19:17

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 17:38


After 4 years of unjustified detention, Halawa is expected to walk free. (Photo Credit: Al Jazeera)
After 4 years of unjustified detention, Halawa is expected to walk free. (Photo Credit: Al Jazeera)

Ibrahim Halawa, an Irish-Egyptian citizen who was detained at age 17, is expected to walk free after years of postponed mass trials in what some call a 'mockery of justice'.

Halawa was kept in pre-trial detention for years, stating that he was regularly tortured during his incarceration. He was part of severe government crackdowns in Cairo, and was among hundreds of others who faced the death penalty for protesting against the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood from government. 

Along with his three sisters, Halawa was arrested along with hundreds of others in August 2013 for taking part in peaceful pro-Morsi sit-ins which were violently broken up by the military regime. 

The sisters were released after three months in custody, whereas Halawa remained imprisoned. 

"Ibrahim was arrested as a child for the 'crime' of attending a protest, tortured, and tried facing the death penalty alongside adults in an unfair mass trial," said Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, a UK-based international human rights organization.

"For years, these court proceedings - which were designed to punish political dissent - made a mockery of justice."

"The wider international community - including the EU, which helps to fund Egypt's courts - must also call urgently on Egypt to end its use of patently illegal mass trials," she added.

According to some reports, Halawa's health has deteriorated significantly under police custody, losing over 30kg after taking part in hunger strikes against the military's brutal treatment of its prisoners. 

Human Rights Watch says the Egypian government is guilty of arresting, charging and indicting or sentencing tends of thousands of civilians in unfair trials.