‘One Day Is Too Much, Four Years Is Torture’

at

This afternoon.

Egypt Embassy, Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4

A Protest to mark Fourth Anniversary of Ibrahim Halawa’s Arrest.

Amnesty International, USI and Unite Against Racism members gathered outside the Egyption Embassy calling for the release of Ibrahim, 21, from Firhouse, Dubin 24.

He was 17 when he was arrested during protests in support of Mohammed Mursi, who had been ousted from power in a military coup.

In a statement, his family said:

“Today we say that four years is too much – four years in an Egyptian prison, four years of a mass trial, four years of hope of freedom that never came true, four years of waiting.

One day is too much, four years is torture. We miss our brother desperately.

Previously: Ibrahim Halawa on Broadsheet

Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

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41 thoughts on “‘One Day Is Too Much, Four Years Is Torture’

      1. Alastair

        Cue more guff about tearing up passports, ‘terrorism’, the sins of the father, and whatever flag of convenience bigotry flies this week.

        1. Alastair

          Tbh, there’s a Wannabe tiki torch brigade on Irish forums already, that any coverage of the Halawa story brings out – they’re merely constrained by their own social inadequacies and limited deductive reasoning.

          1. GiggidyGoo

            Without turning this personal and accusing anyone of anything can you answer these questions straight and direct?

            Why hasn’t his father visited him in Jail?
            Why haven’t his sisters visited him in Jail?
            Are the various YouTube videos of him addressing the masses fake?

          2. Alastair

            GiggidyGoo – his father doesn’t go to Egypt because there’s a military government that has a tendency to round up any opposition and lock them up without trial, often with a bit of torture thrown in for good measure. No doubt you’d brush that prospect off, but it would give most pause. His sisters left the country when bailed on a mass arrest, with the help of the Irish consulate, and are unlikely to return for the same reasons above. His mother does visit him in prison regularly though, so rest assured he’s getting to see some of his family. The singular video of Ibrahim addressing a pro democracy rally isn’t fake, but then again, nor is it anything beyond a position you would expect anyone interested in supporting an ousted democratic parliament following a military coup, to take. Again – YMMV. There really is nothing nefarious in anything the lad has done or said.

        2. Topsy

          Alastair. He was on a mission for his father, who hides from public view, afraid to speak out for or on behalf of his son. Some father. Leader of the MB in Europe of course.

          1. Alastair

            Topsy. Primo fantasist stuff, based on nothing more than conjecture. The family were on a ‘mission’ to take their annual summer holiday with relations. That’s the dull reality of the situation.

          2. GiggidyGoo

            As I can’t reply to Alastair post, isn’t it good that he acknowledges to me that the video isn’t fake, then suddenly can say they were there on annual summer holiday.
            And Alastair says that the father and sisters won’t go back as the government there round up any opposition. But then the mother mustn’t be opposed to the government.
            That must put the household at more than loggerheads with each other.

          3. Alastair

            GiggidyGoo. Just a reminder of the concept of chronology. The family went on holiday – as they did most years. THEN there was a coup while they were on their holiday. THEN they protested that coup. It’s a simple enough sequence, that really shouldn’t pose any problems understanding. And no, theres nothing to suggest that there’s any loggerheads at the kitchen table. There’s other relations in Egypt able to visit Ibrahim too – the trick is to not make any dissenting noises against the regime, and you’ll be grand. Doesn’t make dissent against an illegal coup remotely wrong.

    1. Pat "Connie" Plank

      The Journalistas are already using #prayforbacelona as a pretext for keeping him locked up.

      What is Amnesty International Ireland doing there? They haven’t supported him before because he doesn’t support same sex marriage.

  1. bisted

    …in fairness…the demo should be down the road at the US/zionist embassy who orchestrated the regime change from the democratically elected Morsi to the puppet Sisi…

      1. bisted

        …in fairness, your attempts at conflating the zionism with Judaism are about as credible as Kevin Myers at this stage…

        1. Topsy

          ‘Conflating’ is the your word of the month. About time to dip in to your online dictionary and select another word that you think might impress us all.

        2. shitferbrains

          Right wing : Jews control the White House. Left wing : Zionists control the White House. Right. Must remember that Zionism and Jews are in no way shape or form related. Can’t imagine how that happened.

    1. Twunt

      To think that Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood are pro democracy is either naive or willfully ignorant. The MB are a fascist hate group, just like the hate groups in Charlottesville.

      1. bisted

        …I mightn’t like it…you mightn’t like it…but like the fascist hater in the US, Morsi was democratically elected…trouble for Morsi was that the zionists didn’t like it so regime change it was…facilitated by crooked Hillary as I remember…

        1. Twunt

          He might have been democratically elected, but what he did in office made him a fascist. He was a fascist and the Muslim Brotherhood are fascists. You seem to have trouble accepting this.

          1. Alastair

            The MB aren’t fascists. They are conservative Islamists who see the appeal of their mix of social support networks and religious teaching leading to democratically elected Islamist states. Now, you or I may not like their ideology, but there’s precious little wrong with a belief that it’ll win over in free elections on it’s own merits. Morsi led a coalition government that, through it’s own competing agendas, both enabled and rejected various MB policies. The government was freely elected, and introduced a new constitution that bulwarked the democratic process, and which was democratically mandated by the Egyptian citizenry. You don’t have to pretend that Morsi was flawless, or that the government wasn’t cloth-eared and naive, to believe that it offered far more democratic legitimacy than the current facade of parliamentary representation. The scare-mongering about the MB in Egypt is most notable for it’s disconnect with the actions of the MB in Egypt.

  2. RuilleBuille

    Firstly his treatment by the Egyptian government is appalling.

    Secondly I would want to know why this hateful terrorist family are allowed to stay in Ireland. The father is the go-to guy for the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. The Halawa’s all spoke at an MB gathering threatening violence and proposing the most foul social conservatism on women, gays, and others who disagreed with them. He travelled on his Egyptian passport so why are our consular service getting involved?

    1. Alastair

      So many lies in such a short post. So, once again…

      There’s no evidence of any terrorist involvement in the family. None.

      Even if you subscribe to the notion that the Da is a MB representative (as opposed to someone who is associated with other MB representatives) – which isn’t certain at all – the MB are not a terrorist organisation. They’re not proscribed here, they’re not proscribed in the EU, they’re not proscribed in the US, they’re not even proscribed in Israel.

      The Halawa siblings spoke at a pro-democracy rally in Cairo, actively supporting the Morsi government. No doubt lots of MB supporters there, but it wasn’t a MB rally, and nobody threatened any violence at it. Nor did the rally propose any social conservatism – it was entirely about returning the ousted government, which was far from the scenario you paint.

      He didn’t travel on his Egyptian passport, primarily because he hasn’t actually got an Egyptian passport. His sole passport – an Irish one, was what he used to enter Egypt. He had to pay for a visa to do so. His Egyptian nationality is on the basis of his parentage, but he never applied for, or held an Egyptian passport.

      Hope that helps.

      1. Anne

        You are incorrect regarding the MB. While not a terrorist organization they were making a massive push for social conservatism in Egypt. .A friend of mine, who I met at university, is Egyptian and has been living in Cairo throughout this whole debacle. While the army taking over was not the future envisaged after overthrowing Mubarak, most moderate Egyptians saw it as the best of two bad outcomes over the potential for Sharia law under the MB. He showed me photos of his family when he was younger and I was surprised to see his mother and aunts uncovered as all the recent photos I’ve seen of them they are covered up completely and he said this was the result of increasing social pressure on women over the past 15 years by the increasing power of organisations such as the MB so no doubt this kind of pressure and attitudes would only have worsened under the MB. Personally I cannot support a family such as the Halawas who obviously do not support my rights as a women and also do not support gay rights and equal rights across religions – as is a known stance of the MB in Egypt where discrimination against women, gay people and Christians is rampant and often unreported here. These are the kind of ideals we should abhor along with all who feel this way in a progressive modern Irish society. I find it interesting in an earlier post that you say ‘neither you nor I may like their ideology’ – if you would not be happy to live under it you should not support millions of Egyptians living under this ideology also. Your rose tinted view of the MB seems to be very biased compared to what I have heard from moderate citizens living there who want the type of rights we have here in the west. However I do think that there needs to be a trial and outcome one way or the other.

        1. Alastair

          You need to convince pretty much every state worldwide that the MB are a terrorist organisation. Because they’ve consistently determined otherwise. The Morsi government didn’t impose any dress codes on women, nor did it introduce any civil rights restrictions based on gender, religion, or any other issue. Nor did it impose any aspect of sharia that isn’t alluded to in the current (post coup) constitution. I think it’s you who’s demonstrating your naivity by buying into the rhetoric in the face of the actual facts. The Halawas might not garner your support, but you should really ask yourself why you’re ascribing blame to them for issues that they clearly have no role to play in.

        2. Alastair

          Apologies – I conflated your post with those claiming ‘terrorism’ – noted that you agree that it’s not a terrorist organisation.

  3. Eamonn Clancy

    How does a 17 year old Dublin lad, on holidays, end up on a platform speaking to thousands of protesters? He really is an extraordinary talent; has survived multiple hunger strikes and manages to write beautifully composed letters, protesting at his treatment, at will, and have them sent out.

    1. Alastair

      How did he end up on a platform? Same way as all the other foreigners who protested against the coup did – they were asked if they wanted to show solidarity by saying a few words to the rally. Nothing wrong in reacting to a coup you find yourself in, particularly when it impacts your extended family. As to getting letters out of the prison – what exactly is the issue there? Plenty of prisoners in Egypt write about their situation – there were regular published letters from Peter Greste, Ibrihim’s previous cellmate. You take issue with his composition skills? Not to your taste?

      1. postmanpat

        His extended family are wrong to support fascist MB so he shouldn’t be showing any solidarity with them. If fact, he should have turned his back on them like any normal person would. Theirs a reason why most people in Ireland don’t really care what happens to this hate monger punk. He is Irish only when it suits him , he has a backward world view and got what he deserved. He wants women as slaves and gays hung in the street and his family feel the same way. Some apologist call it Muslim conservativism, I call it fascism . Its not welcome here. I only wish the rest of his family were locked up with him.

        1. Alastair

          People in Ireland clearly do care about what happens this fellah. You seeem to mistake your own bigotry for a broader dynamic. It’s only the tiki torch contingent who buys into your little projected fantasy.

          1. postmanpat

            Most people really don’t care what happens a little fascist dope. Most people is this country don’t like fascists. You obviously do and probably admire Hitler for what he did to your enemies. Just go away , don’t you have to attend a female genital mutilation or something?

          2. Alastair

            Keep it up postmanpat – petulant tantrums of gibberish really do a great job in lieu of an actual argument.

  4. dav

    I think this just shows how little “pull” the irish government has on the international stage – the green tinted glasses of how Ireland punches above it’s weight on the international stage is shown for the lies it really is..

    1. postmanpat

      But in this particular case, most people can live with it. I know I can. Call it.. rough justice! Let it be a lesson for any other “Irish” kids who want to go on “holiday” and get caught up “by coincidence” at a fascist rally. And end up in a cell on “hunger strike”.

        1. postmanpat

          Your anti gay and anti woman stance makes you an idiot. Shouldn’t you be a at prayers anyway instead of on the internet?

          1. Alastair

            Don’t listen to those voices in your head postman pat, they’re seemingly selling you a pup, and making your derangement visible to all.

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