CAIRO — Egypt released early on Friday an Irish-Egyptian man detained for over four years on charges related to a 2013 Muslim Brotherhood protest in Cairo, his lawyer said. Ibrahim Halawa’s release, announced by Irish lawyer Darragh Mackin, came about a month after an Egyptian court acquitted him of charges including murder, arson and illegal possession of weapons. Also, Maya Foa, director of the U.K.-based rights organization Reprieve, said Halawa’s release was “long overdue” and urged the Egyptian government to halt mass trials. Since Morsi’s ouster, Egypt has launched a crackdown on the country’s Islamists that saw hundreds killed and thousands jailed. Hijazi and others faced charges of abusing children, which were widely dismissed as bogus by human rights groups and U.S. officials.

Source: National Post October 20, 2017 08:56 UTC