Washington D.C. – Al Monitor, November 27, 2024
Laila Soueif is on hunger strike until the release of her son Alaa Abdel Fattah from an Egyptian jail
The mother of a British-Egyptian activist blogger imprisoned in Egypt told UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Wednesday she will keep up a two-month-old hunger strike until he is released.
Laila Soueif, 68, who has not eaten for 59 days, met Britain’s new top diplomat for the first time to press her case for the UK government to do more to secure the release of her son, Alaa Abdel Fattah.
The pro-democracy and rights campaigner was arrested by Egyptian authorities in September 2019 and handed a five-year sentence for “spreading false news” in a Facebook post on torture in Egypt’s prisons.
His family and press advocates, including Reporters Without Borders, argue he should have been freed this year after completing his sentence when time spent in pre-trial detention is accounted for.
They have long campaigned on his case, insisting it was “bogus” and that he did not receive a fair trial.
“I’m still on hunger strike, and I’m remaining on hunger strike,” Soueif, flanked by her two daughters, told reporters after the trio met Lammy earlier Wednesday.
“It’s possible to get this done and to get this done quickly. That’s what I’m betting on. I’m betting on it with my health and my life.”
