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Fatima Halawa pictured during Ibrahim's imprisonment in May 2016. Leah Farrell/:RollingNews.ie
long way back
Ibrahim Halawa 'has yet to speak to family and won't be getting government jet home'
Halawa’s sister says he is still in prison and must be reinterviewed by police before he is freed.
IBRAHIM HALAWA’S SISTER Fatima says that the family are yet to speak to him since his acquittal and that his release is still being processed.
The 21-year-old was found innocent by an Egyptian court on Monday but remains in prison in Cairo.
Fatima Halawa, who was also arrested at the 2013 protest at which Ibrahim was detained, told RTÉ’s Saturday with Claire Byrne that he still has some hurdles to clear before he is freed.
These include a final interview by police.
“Basically, the documents need to go to the prison and then from there he’s released to a police station where they reinvestigate him one more time and then hopefully he’ll be released,” she said, adding that the family have not spoken to him yet.
It was reported during the week that the government hadn’t ruled out using its private jet to bring Ibrahim Halawa back to Ireland, but Fatima says she hasn’t heard any mention that this will happen.
No, not that we’ve heard of. There was talk around that but it was in no way mentioned to the family and I think people also contacted the department and stated clearly there isn’t a process of that, so I think something was misunderstood. I’ve no idea how that came about.
Fatima said it’s been “so surreal” for the family since Ibrahim’s trial finished.
“I think it won’t properly hit home until we’re touching Ibrahim and he’s face to face with us,” she said.
Halawa, from Firhouse in Dublin, was arrested during a protest in 2013 in support of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi who had been ousted from power in a military coup.
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