Irish citizen Ibrahim Halawa has been acquitted of all charges by an Egyptian court.
The 21 year old Dubliner has been in prison in Egypt for four years after being arrested at a political protest in Cairo.
Ibrahim Halawa, moments after his acquittal. He jumped with joy, hugged fellow prisoners and had tears in his eyes. pic.twitter.com/P40IjYQLHK
— Declan Walsh (@declanwalsh) September 18, 2017
The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney have reacted to the news.
I wholeheartedly welcome the conclusion to Ibrahim Halawa's case.
— Leo Varadkar (@campaignforleo) September 18, 2017
Ibrahim Halawa + his sisters have been acquitted of all charges in Cairo, will work to get him home asap, thoughts with his family
— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) September 18, 2017
So has the Director of Amnesty International Ireland, who's campaigned for Ibrahim's acquittal.
Breaking: Ibrahim Halawa has been acquitted of charges. Verdict just emerging in Cairo. Really, really good news. #FreeIbrahim
— Colm O'Gorman (@Colmogorman) September 18, 2017
President Michael D Higgins has released a statement welcoming the news.
His family gathered in Firhouse for the verdict and have been hugging each other and phoning relatives.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: Ibrahim's sisters Fatima and Omaima say they are overwhelmed and excited after Ibrahim has been found innocent <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/halawa?src=hash">#halawa</a> <a href="https://t.co/wnjh6EqqVA">pic.twitter.com/wnjh6EqqVA</a></p>— Stephanie Grogan (@StephGrogan3) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephGrogan3/status/909759035410436096">September 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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