Wexford Amnesty’s Lorraine at human rights conference

WEXFORD Amnesty member Lorraine Smyth, who played a prominent role in the campaign to free Ibrahim Halawa from an Egyptian prison, has been invited to join an Irish delegaton to the EU Parliament in Strasbourg and a conference on human rights. Lorraine said she received a call from Enda Fanning, the political advisor to MEP Lynn Boyland asking her to join the visit which is due to take place this week.

‘Enda said they appreciated my work on the Ibrahim campaign, so Lynn asked would I attend,’ said Lorraine.

‘We are going to Frankfurt and then on to Strasbourg to the Parliament and will be attending the visitors centre at the the European Parliament Public Gallery and then attending the Conference on Egyptian Human Rights.’

Speaking at conference will be Ibrahim Halawa, who recently visited Wexford to thank people in the town for all their support for the campaign to win his freedom; Leslie Piquemal, Cairo Institute of Human Rights; Taher Mokhtar, Doctor and Activist speaking on access to medical care in Egyptian Prisons and Moataz el Feiery, from Frontline defenders, speaking on the persecution of Nubians and other minorities in Egypt.‘I will be hoping to bring up the case 173 which has been introduced in Egypt to curb the work of human rights activists,’ said Lorraine. She said there are 66 human rights defenders and NGO staff for interrogation.