Tallaght man Ibrahim Halawa moved to prison hospital due to ill health

The family of Tallaght man Ibrahim Halawa, who has been held without trial for nearly four years, have said he has been moved to a prison hospital.

Mr Halalwa has had his trial postponed 18 times, and he has reportedly been on hunger strike for some time.

The Halawa family have said they are extremely concerned about his ill health, with an aunt of his who visited him last week saying the conditions in the prison hospital are very poor.

“We feel that the government must do something different and be tougher,” his family said in statement.

They continued: “It’s time they put a deadline on this. When is Ibrahim’s suffering going to end? 

“He has been in prison for almost four years. His health is not good. He is on hunger strike. How much longer? 

“We feel that we are losing him. The Government must act now before it’s too late.”

It was hoped that a visit by several local Irish politicians to Egypt in January would see some movement on Mr Halawa’s case, however Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El Sisi said he would only intervene once the case had been heard in court.

Mr Halawa, who was arrested along with his sisters during a protest in Cairo, has been in prison since August 2013, and has had his trial postponed 18 times.

A thorough review of Mr Halawa’s case by Amnesty International, and the prosecution’s evidence, has already concluded that Ibrahim could not have committed the violent crimes with which he has been charged.