1,497 days in prison: a timeline of Ibrahim Halawa’s detention

From being arrested in 2013 with his sisters to being acquitted in 2017

Since August 2013 Ibrahim Halawa has been imprisoned without trial in Egypt, just over four years later he was acquitted of all charge.

2013

August 13th – Ibrahim Halawa, a 17-year-old Irish citizen, is arrested by Egyptian security forces along with his older sisters Somaia, Fatima and Omaima. They were partaking in a protest in Cairo against the removal of the country's president Mohamed Morsi the previous month.

November – Somaia, Fatima and Omaima Halawa return to Ireland after being released from custody in Egypt. Egyptian authorities refuse to sanction the release of Ibrahim Halawa, who is detained at the low-security Al Marg prison in Cairo.

Ibrahim Halawa was 17-years-old when he was arrested by Egyptian security forces  in Cairo.
Ibrahim Halawa was 17-years-old when he was arrested by Egyptian security forces in Cairo.

2014

August – Ibrahim Halawa is transferred back to the notorious Tora prison, where he was first detained following his arrest, in advance of an impending mass trial involving close to 500 defendants alleged to have been implicated in the previous year's disturbances. Potential sentences for the defendants include life imprisonment and death.

2015

February – Peter Greste, an Al Jazeera reporter from Australia, is freed from Tora prison after he was caught up in the August 2013 disturbances. Following his release, Greste, who shared a cell with Halawa, recounts the harsh conditions to which they were subjected and says claims of torture at the facility are genuine. He goes on to join an increasing chorus calling for Halawa's release.

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March – Trial hearings finally commence into the cases of Halawa and his co-accused after being postponed on five previous occasions. The trial will be postponed on a further 25 occasions over the course of a painstaking two-and-a-half-year process.

June – Reports emerge that Halawa has been on hunger strike in protest at his continued detention.

Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan MEP with Ibrahim Halawa’s sisters  at Dublin Airport enroute to a public hearing in the European Parliament in 2015. Photograph: Cyril Byrne
Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan MEP with Ibrahim Halawa’s sisters at Dublin Airport enroute to a public hearing in the European Parliament in 2015. Photograph: Cyril Byrne

November – In one of a series of letters sent to his family in Dublin, Halawa says he and his fellow inmates are being subjected to inhumane treatment and torture as part of the prison regime. Irish officials in Dublin and Cairo continue their efforts to have the teenager released from custody.

2017

January – A delegation of eight TDs visit the Wadi el Natrun prison where Halawa is now being held. They promise to advance the case for his release during meetings with Egyptian authorities.

March – Halawa's family claim he is dying in his Egyptian prison and implore the Irish Government to intervene in a bid to save his life. Irish officials arrange for a physician to visit Halawa in jail, who recommends that he should be released to allow for medical tests.

July 25th – Two years after the trial opened and four years after Halawa's detention, the prosecution finally brings its case against the defendants to a close.

August 28th – Despite expectations the trial would be concluded, Ibrahim Halawa is informed at a court hearing in Egypt that his case is being postponed for a further three weeks.

Omaima, Fatima and Somaia Halawa pictured in their home in Dublin in 2014. Photograph: Aidan Crawley
Omaima, Fatima and Somaia Halawa pictured in their home in Dublin in 2014. Photograph: Aidan Crawley

September 18th – 1,497 days after being arrested, Ibrahim Halawa is acquitted of all charges. He is expected to be released within days.