THE FAMILY OF Ibrahim Halawa has said he has been moved to hospital in the Egyptian prison where he has spent the last three-and-a-half years.

A statement from his family said that he was moved to hospital on Tuesday with a heart problem they say has “deteriorated”.

An aunt of Halawa’s was said to have visited earlier this week and said that the prison hospital facilities were very poor and that his room had no access to sunlight.

His family said in a statement: “We feel the government must do something different and be tougher. It’s time they put a deadline on this.

When is Ibrahim’s suffering going to end? He has been in prison for almost four years. His health is not good. He is on hunger strike. How much longer. We feel that we are losing him. The government must act now before it’s too late.

AAA-PBP TD Paul Murphy told TheJournal.ie that this latest news on Halawa is “very, very worrying”.

He said: “It re-emphasises for everyone who wants to see Ibrahim released that we need to put as much pressure as possible on the Egyptian authorities.

Authorities had claimed that he had no heart condition, but that now appears not to be the case. In the immediate term, he must get the medical attention he needs, and then in the long term he needs to be freed.

Ibrahim Halawa moved to prison hospital, with the heart condition that the authorities tried to deny he had when we were there. #FreeIbrahim — Paul Murphy (@paulmurphy_TD) February 23, 2017 Source: Paul Murphy /Twitter

Earlier this month, the Irish national had his trial delayed for the 19th time. In January, Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said that “substantial resources” were being used by the government in an attempt to secure Halawa’s release.