Dublin-born Ibrahim Halawa, who has been detained in Egypt since his arrest there two and a half years ago, will go on trial today.
Ibrahim was only 17 when he was arrested during a protest in Cairo for allegedly shooting at police forces.
The young man’s trial has been postponed 10 times since his arrest. A European Parliament resolution calling for Ibrahim’s release has been rejected by Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan has said that judges in Cairo will be conscious of such resolution, however. She said “Certainly they (the Egyptian authorities) were very worried about this resolution passing,”
“They were lobbying franticly in the days preceding it to try and convince MEPs to not to vote in favour for it – that shows you the status that it carries.
“While it’s not legally binding, it’s certainly has shone a spotlight on Ibrahim’s case and on the Egyptian authorities on how they are carrying out trails at the moment in Egypt.