SF's Boylan calls for appointment of new Irish ambassador to Egypt as Halawa case postponed again
A Sinn Féin MEP has demanded the Government appoint a new Irish ambassador to Egypt to help the detained Irish teenager Ibrahim Halawa.
The position has been left vacant since the previous ambassador retired earlier this year.
The Dublin-born teenager has been held in an Egyptian prison since 2013 after taking part in a protest in Cairo.
His trial has been postponed nine times since his arrest, most recently last Sunday when it was put back to December 15.
MEP Lynn Boylan (pictured) said that if the Government were serious about helping Ibrahim, it would have appointed a new ambassador.
"The fact the Irish consulate out there covers five different countries…I think they're under-resourced," she said.
"If the Irish Government is really serious in saying they're doing everything that they possibly can, then appoint an acting ambassador in the interim and resource the consulate properly."
