Monday, April 28 – LONDON/CAIRO – The family of imprisoned British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah has raised alarm over his deteriorating health and that of his mother, Laila Soueif, as both continue prolonged hunger strikes demanding his release from Egyptian custody. The dual protest—now stretching over months—has left both mother and son in critical condition, with no clear progress in diplomatic negotiations.

Soueif, 68, a prominent mathematician and activist, has been on a full or partial hunger strike since September 2024. Her family now describes her condition as “dying in slow motion.”

“What are we supposed to do, just sit around and wait to die?” said Soueif, voicing despair as her protest reaches its eighth month.

Abd el-Fattah, 42, who is serving a five-year sentence on terrorism charges in Wadi el-Natrun prison near Cairo, began his hunger strike in February 2025 after learning his mother had been hospitalized in London. Since then, he has consumed only herbal tea, black coffee, and rehydration salts. He required medical treatment earlier this week for severe stomach pain and vomiting, after more than 55 days on strike.

The activist’s hunger strike coincided with Soueif’s admission to St Thomas’ Hospital in London nearly 150 days into her own strike, where doctors administered a life-saving glucose drip.

Alaa Abd el-Fattah was arrested in 2019 over a Facebook post and later sentenced in 2021 on charges widely condemned as politically motivated. He has now completed five years in prison—the full term handed down—but Egyptian authorities insist his sentence will not expire until January 2027, claiming that his time in pre-trial detention does not count.

“My son is now sick, alone, in prison, and we did not even know about it until he had been sick for a week,” said Soueif. “What more can we do?”

Abd el-Fattah became a British citizen in 2021 while behind bars, through his mother. His family had hoped the new nationality would expedite international intervention. So far, their hopes remain unrealized.

Earlier this year, Soueif began a daily sit-in while on hunger strike at the gates of Downing Street, seeking to pressure Prime Minister Keir Starmer into direct engagement with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Starmer met with Soueif in mid-February, shortly before she was hospitalized again as her blood sugar reached dangerously low levels.

“I will do everything I can to ensure the release in this case, and that includes phone calls as necessary,” Starmer told Parliament after their meeting. “I’ve raised it before. I’ll raise it again.”

On February 28, Starmer spoke directly with President Sisi, reportedly pressing for Alaa’s release. A Downing Street readout confirmed the matter was discussed. In response, Soueif modified her strike to allow for 300 calories per day and was discharged from the hospital in early March.

But more than two months later, there has been no clear diplomatic progress. “I started taking some 300 calories a day when the prime minister and President Sisi talked,” Soueif said. “But that was two months ago now and nothing has happened.”

The UK Foreign Office reiterated on Monday that securing Abd el-Fattah’s release remains “an absolute priority.”

“We continue to press for consular access,” a spokesperson said. Foreign Secretary David Lammy also raised the issue with his Egyptian counterpart on April 9.

Soueif’s nephew, author and filmmaker Omar Robert Hamilton, said her physical condition has grown dire. “Three hundred calories a day is not enough to sustain life. Her muscles are being eaten away,” he said. “It’s like she is dying in slow motion.”

Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a renowned figure from the 2011 Egyptian revolution and one of the Arab world’s most recognized political prisoners, has spent most of the last decade behind bars. His case has drawn international condemnation, with human rights groups, UK officials, and UN experts calling for his immediate release.