Irishman Ibrahim Halawa speaks out, days away from facing the death penalty

Dublin man Ibrahim Halawa has been in an Egyptian jail for three years after being arrested at the age of just 17 while holidaying in Cairo with his sisters.

He was charged with causing deaths and criminal damage, but these claims have been unsubstantiated and discredited by organisations including Amnesty International. He had attended a protest with his three sisters, and while they were freed, he remains in jail. The Independent has obtained a letter from him given to them by the human rights charity reprieve, detailing the horrors of his day-to-day life in an Egyptian prison having spent three years without a trial.

An average day: I wake up EVERY MORNING to the screams of prisoners being tortured and the echo of the bar landing on their bodies. Wait your turn for the ground toilets. There are no seats [on the toilets] so whether you are old, sick, or tired, you squat. For so long i haven’t seen green. The beans here come uncooked so I planted some of them in tissue. It was breathtaking to see green, lol. We read, write, and sing. I love to sing. I make them laugh. I’m known in prison to take anyone out of a bad, depressed mood. I share memories of Ireland, we share our funny love stories, we daydream. We look at family photos over and over and over again. That is some of a normal day. The not normal days are for another time.

Halawa detailed his mistreatment at the hands of prison officials.

"There are many ways I have been mistreated: cursing, beatings, solitary confinement, ‘the tank’, convicts and the sweeper, head shaving, hunger strike, stripped, [beaten with] the back of an AK47, guns pointed at my chest, sleeping on the ground, robbery, and many more." "They torture another prisoner and they make you watch. They bury him in garbage and he isn’t allowed to move. Crucify men. They hold a man’s arm against the curb and you hear it break when they kick it. A man is tied to a tree with honey all over him for insects to gather on him. A man is hung from a basketball hoop by his handcuffs and beaten while hanging in the air. And a lot more."

He went on to write about the absurdity of the case against him.

"I spoke freely, protested peacefully, and was arrested violently. I was shot with a shotgun and with tear gas. I’m not pro-Morsi. I’m pro-democracy."

While being arrested, they said, “We only need you for five minutes.” It’s been three years. I thought I’d be home the same day." The verdict is allegedly being handed down on June 29th, after numerous trial postponements.