The mother of jailed British-Egyptian dissident Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been taken to hospital as she neared the 150th day of a hunger strike in protest against her son's imprisonment in Egypt.
Laila Soueif, 68, who has lost nearly five stone in weight since starting her fast in September, was admitted to St. Thomas' hospital on Monday after her blood sugar dipped to worryingly low levels, her daughter said in a post on X.
Abd el-Fattah, a software developer and blogger who rose to prominence as an activist in the 2011 Arab Spring, was jailed for five years in Egypt over a social media post, a sentence that followed several previous spells in prison, including before and after the uprising.
Soueif, a mathematics professor, has been on hunger strike, consuming only herbal tea, black coffee and rehydration salts, ever since Egyptian authorities failed to free Abd el-Fattah on a scheduled release date of 29 September.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have raised Abd el-Fattah's case with their Egyptian counterparts a number of times.
Sir Keir met Soueif this month, promising to do everything he could to secure Abd el Fattah's release.
David Lammy raised the case with officials in Cairo last month, and the Prime Minister has also brought it to the attention of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Downing Street has said.
More than 50 cross-party MPs and peers have sent a letter to Sir Keir expressing concern about Ms Soueif’s health and urging the Prime Minister to speak to Mr El-Sisi directly by phone or in person.
Abd el Fattah's former prison mate, Australian journalist Peter Greste, joined Soueif in the hunger strike for three weeks last month.
On the 100th day of her protest, Ms Soueif said: “I honestly can’t believe that my body has lasted 100 days on hunger strike. I had no idea it was possible.
“But unfortunately the government seems to be waiting for me to be hospitalised before they act decisively to secure my son’s freedom.
“We have been lucky that my body has been resilient but we will soon run out of time. I have now lost a lot of weight and am more and more tired every day.”
