Ibrahim Halawa in ‘reasonable spirits’ following two years in jail

Ibrahim Halawa, the Irish teenager imprisoned in Egypt, was described as being "in reasonable spirits " by the chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs after he visited him in custody.

Fine Gael TD Pat Breen said he met Mr Halawa for 90 minutes on Wednesday "in what are very trying circumstances" at the Wadi Al-Natrun prison in Cairo.

Mr Halawa faces a number of charges since being arrested at a protest in Cairo two years ago and his trial was recently adjourned until October.

Mr Breen said he met Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry for a meeting which covered "a wide range of bilateral issues" and "also took the opportunity to raise Ibrahim Halawa's concerns".

The committee had recently sought permission to visit Mr Halawa in prison.

“I relayed our ongoing interest in his case and the concerns of his family in relation to his health and well-being and that I would bring these concerns to the relevant authorities,” said Mr Breen.

“Ibrahim was appreciative of my presence and thanked the committee for its ongoing interest in his case. I expressed the committee’s continued support to him to ensure his speedy release.”

He said “other high-level meetings” with senior officials from the ministry of the interior were scheduled .