BRUSSELS, Belgium, May 13, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
European Parliament Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), Elena Valenciano (SD, ES) expresses her profound concern at Mr Halawa’s arrest, the conditions of his detention and the continued postponement of his trial and calls for his immediate and unconditional release. DROI Chair made the following statement:
“As stated in the European Parliament’s resolution of 17 December 2015, Mr Halawa is a prisoner of conscience, detained for having exercised his right to freedom of expression. He should be immediately and unconditionally released and the government of Egypt should honour its commitment to the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
“I call on the European External Action Service to monitor closely the case of Halawa, take all necessary steps and measures to guarantee his fair trial and to raise his case at the highest level of its political dialogue with Egypt”, she added.
In August 2013, Ibrahim Halawa who is an Irish citizen participated in peaceful protests in Cairo, which led to a violent crackdown by security forces in Cairo. On 17 August 2013, he was arrested and is still in jail 1000 days after, facing the death penalty despite being a juvenile at that time.
