Mother of Jailed British-Egyptian Activist Nears 250-Day Hunger Strike Amid Death Risk

Laila Soueif, the mother of British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah who is imprisoned in Egypt, has been on hunger strike for over eight months, losing 42% of her body weight and now weighing only 49kg. She is currently hospitalized in London, where doctors have warned she is at immediate risk of sudden death due to dangerously low blood sugar levels, but she remains determined to continue her strike until her son is freed. Abd El-Fattah was sentenced to five years in prison in December 2021 on charges related to spreading false news and should have been released last year, but the Egyptian government has refused to count his pretrial detention as part of his sentence. Soueif has called on the British Prime Minister to intervene and pressure Egyptian authorities for her son's release, stating that if she dies as a result of her hunger strike, her death should be used as leverage to free him. Her daughter, Sanaa Seif, expressed concern for both her mother and brother, emphasizing the family's hope that the Foreign Office will act promptly. The family fears that Abd El-Fattah, a prominent political prisoner who played a key role in Egypt's 2011 pro-democracy protests, is being held as an example by the Egyptian regime, and his prolonged detention has sparked international calls for his release.