1,497 days in prison: a timeline of Ibrahim Halawa’s detention

2013

August 13th – Ibrahim Halawa, a 17-year-old Irish citizen, is arrested by Egyptian security forces along with his older sisters Somaia, Fatima and Omaima. They were partaking in a protest in Cairo against the removal of the country's president Mohamed Morsi the previous month.

November – Somaia, Fatima and Omaima Halawa return to Ireland after being released from custody in Egypt. Egyptian authorities refuse to sanction the release of Ibrahim Halawa, who is detained at the low-security Al Marg prison in Cairo.

2014

August – Ibrahim Halawa is transferred back to the notorious Tora prison, where he was first detained following his arrest, in advance of an impending mass trial involving close to 500 defendants alleged to have been implicated in the previous year's disturbances. Potential sentences for the defendants include life imprisonment and death.

2015

February – Peter Greste, an Al Jazeera reporter from Australia, is freed from Tora prison after he was caught up in the August 2013 disturbances. Following his release, Greste, who shared a cell with Halawa, recounts the harsh conditions to which they were subjected and says claims of torture at the facility are genuine. He goes on to join an increasing chorus calling for Halawa's release.

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March – Trial hearings finally commence into the cases of Halawa and his co-accused after being postponed on five previous occasions. The trial will be postponed on a further 25 occasions over the course of a painstaking two-and-a-half-year process.

June – Reports emerge that Halawa has been on hunger strike in protest at his continued detention.

November – In one of a series of letters sent to his family in Dublin, Halawa says he and his fellow inmates are being subjected to inhumane treatment and torture as part of the prison regime. Irish officials in Dublin and Cairo continue their efforts to have the teenager released from custody.

2017

January – A delegation of eight TDs visit the Wadi el Natrun prison where Halawa is now being held. They promise to advance the case for his release during meetings with Egyptian authorities.

March – Halawa's family claim he is dying in his Egyptian prison and implore the Irish Government to intervene in a bid to save his life. Irish officials arrange for a physician to visit Halawa in jail, who recommends that he should be released to allow for medical tests.

July 25th – Two years after the trial opened and four years after Halawa's detention, the prosecution finally brings its case against the defendants to a close.

August 28th – Despite expectations the trial would be concluded, Ibrahim Halawa is informed at a court hearing in Egypt that his case is being postponed for a further three weeks.

September 18th – 1,497 days after being arrested, Ibrahim Halawa is acquitted of all charges. He is expected to be released within days.