Latest news with #AlaaAbdElFattah
Sky News
18 hours ago
- General
- Sky News
Laila Soueif: It's a 'miracle' mother of jailed activist is alive on day 245 of hunger strike, family says
The daughter of a 69-year-old woman on hunger strike over her son's imprisonment in Egypt has said it is "a miracle" her mother is still alive. Laila Soueif is now 245 days into surviving on water and rehydration salts, having begun her hunger strike on 29 September last year - the day after her British-Egyptian son, Alaa Abd el Fattah, was due to be released following a five-year prison sentence. Laila was admitted to London's St Thomas' hospital on Thursday and amid fears for her life, her daughter Sanaa Soueif today told Sky News' Matt Barbet the past two nights were "really tough". "It's a miracle mum is alive," she said. "At some point [last night] the blood sugar machine was not reading, but my mum is still conscious. She's holding on." Activist Mr Fattah has been in prison more or less continuously since 2014 over his role in the pro-democracy Arab Spring protests in 2011. He was briefly free for six months before being rearrested in 2019 for "disseminating false news" after retweeting a report that said another prisoner had died in custody. "I need the British government to treat my brother like a hostage," Sanaa said. "There is no legal merit to holding him any longer." Addressing the fact that the UK and Egypt have strong diplomatic ties, she added: "If you can't get your friends to respect your citizens, then what chance do you stand with enemies?" "It is very frustrating," she said. "I think both governments are finally sensing the urgency, I just hope it's not too late. "I am updating the Foreign Office every hour, but they're not acting with enough urgency that would save her. "I'm hearing plans of weeks… We don't have weeks. Keir Starmer needs to act now." In a letter to Laila, and shared by her family, a doctor warned on Friday that she is at an "immediate risk" of sudden death. There is also a "clear risk" of "irreversible damage to organs including heart, brain and kidneys" which is "worsening the probability for complications upon future re-feeding," they added. A Foreign Office spokesperson said on Saturday: "We are deeply concerned by Laila's hospitalisation. We remain in regular contact with Laila's family and have checked on her welfare. We are also in contact with the Egyptian authorities. "We are committed to securing Alaa Abd El-Fattah's release and continue to press for this at the highest levels of the Egyptian government." Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East, "conveyed our deep concerns about the situation in a call with the Egyptian ambassador" on Saturday, the statement added. "Further engagement at the highest levels of the Egyptian government continues."
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Mother of jailed British activist at risk of ‘sudden death' from hunger strike, doctors warn
The mother of jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah is at risk of "sudden death" due to her ongoing hunger strike, doctors have warned, as her blood sugar levels dropped so low they can no longer be detected. Laila Soueif, 69, was hospitalised on Friday after resuming a full hunger strike, which she first started in September last year. Ms Soueif has been on hunger strike for 244 days and has lost 36kg – over 40 per cent of her bodyweight – to campaign for Alaa's release from prison in Egypt, where the writer and human rights defender has been held for over a decade in total. He was most recently detained for sharing a Facebook post about torture in Egypt. On Friday, doctors at St Thomas' Hospital in London said her blood sugar level had fallen to such a dangerously low level that it is undetectable by standard medical tests. They also reported her ketone levels, which indicate blood acidity, had risen so high they too could not be measured by hospital equipment. They warned she is now at risk of "sudden death" and irreversible damage to critical organs, including the heart, brain and kidneys. 'Your low blood sugar remains an unaddressed medical emergency and I am anxious that just a slight further reduction could result in rapid loss of consciousness, and even death,' one of the attending doctors wrote. Outside St Thomas' Hospital, Laila's daughter Sanaa said it was a 'miracle' her mother survived the night. 'Bottom line is we're losing her… there is no time. Keir Starmer needs to act now. Not tomorrow, not Monday. Now. Right now.' A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: 'We are concerned to hear of Laila's hospitalisation. We remain in regular contact with Laila and her family and have checked on her welfare. We are committed to securing Alaa Abd El-Fattah's release and continue to press this at the highest levels of the Egyptian government.' Last Thursday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer once again spoke to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and 'pressed for the urgent release of British national Alaa Abd El-Fattah so that he can be reunited with his family.' The family says Alaa Abd El-Fattah is also on his 92nd day of hunger strike, consuming only herbal tea, black coffee, and rehydration salts while imprisoned in Wadi El-Natrun in Egypt. He began the hunger strike after his mother's last hospitalisation in February. Alaa is a prominent British-Egyptian human rights defender and one of the most recognized faces of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising. He has spent in total over a decade in prison amid a growing crackdown on civil liberties and freedom of expression in Egypt. He is among thousands of individuals who remain arbitrarily detained without legal basis in Egypt, according to Amnesty International.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Mother of jailed British activist admitted to hospital while on hunger strike
The mother of a British man jailed in Egypt has been admitted to hospital after spending more than 240 days on hunger strike. Laila Soueif's family said she had been admitted to St Thomas's Hospital in London on Thursday night with dangerously low blood sugar levels, but continues to refuse medical intervention. Ms Soueif has been on hunger strike for 242 days in protest against the imprisonment of her son, Alaa Abd El-Fattah, who has been in jail in Egypt since September 2019. Speaking to reporters outside the hospital on Friday, Ms Soueif's daughter Mona Seif said she feared her mother was on the brink of death and urged the Prime Minister to act immediately. Ms Seif said: 'The bottom line is we are losing her and there is no time. ' Keir Starmer needs to act now, not tomorrow, not Monday, now.' In December 2021, Mr Abd El-Fattah was sentenced to five years in prison for spreading false news and should have been released last year. UN investigators have declared his imprisonment in breach of international law and earlier this year Sir Keir Starmer promised he would 'do everything I can' to ensure his release. Ms Seif said: 'If he is unable to deliver, if he is unable to bring my brother (home), then he needs to show that Britain is angry, that Britain is not going to let go of its citizen.' In a statement on Friday, Ms Soueif's family said she had received glucagon treatment, which induces the liver to break down stored fat to obtain glucose, but continued to refuse treatment that would provide her with calories. She has lost 42% of her bodyweight, now weighing 49kg, and has not eaten food since September 29 2024. She was previously admitted to hospital in February, with doctors warning she was at 'high risk of sudden death', and in early March agreed to move to a partial hunger strike following a call between Sir Keir and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. But she resumed her full hunger strike on May 20, saying: 'Nothing has changed, nothing is happening.' Mr Abd El-Fattah has been on his own hunger strike for 90 days following his mother's admission to hospital in February. The Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian president again in a call last week, and Middle East minister Hamish Falconer discussed his release with Egypt's foreign minister Badr Abdelatty on Sunday. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: 'We are concerned to hear of Laila's hospitalisation. We remain in regular contact with Laila and her family and have checked on her welfare. 'We are committed to securing Alaa Abd El-Fattah's release and continue to press for this at the highest levels of the Egyptian government.'
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Laila Soueif: Jailed British-Egyptian activist's mother in hospital after 242-day hunger strike
The mother of a jailed British-Egyptian activist has been hospitalised after resuming a hunger strike to campaign for his release. Laila Soueif's daughter has implored Sir Keir Starmer to 'act now' after her mother was hospitalised on Thursday after resuming a full hunger strike on May 20. 'Keir Starmer needs to act now. Not tomorrow, not Monday. Now. Right now it's a miracle that last night passed. It's a miracle that we still have her,' Sanaa Seif said. Mrs Soueif has been refusing food for 242 days in protest against the imprisonment of her son, Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British -Egyptian activist jailed for sharing a Facebook post about torture in Egypt. A spokesperson from the Foreign Office said: 'We are concerned to hear of Laila's hospitalisation. We remain in regular contact with Laila and her family and have checked on her welfare. We are committed to securing Alaa Abd El-Fattah's release and continue to press this at the highest levels of the Egyptian government.'
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Mother of jailed British-Egyptian activist hospitalised after 242 days on hunger strike
The mother of the imprisoned British-Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah has has been admitted to hospital after spending more than 240 days on hunger strike. Laila Soueif's family said she had been admitted to St Thomas' hospital in London on Thursday night with dangerously low blood sugar levels, but continues to refuse medical intervention that would provide her with calories. Soueif has been on hunger strike for 242 days in protest against the imprisonment of her son, who has been in jail in Egypt since September 2019. Last week, Souief told the Guardian that she weighed 49kg and had lost about 42% of her body weight since beginning the protest. In December 2021, Abd El-Fattah was sentenced to five years in prison for 'spreading false news' and should have been released last year. His mother has not eaten any food since 29 September 2024, the date her son's prison sentence was due to end. She had been surviving only on herbal tea, black coffee, rehydration salts and 300-calorie liquid supplements. She resumed her full hunger strike on 20 May, saying: 'Nothing has changed, nothing is happening.' UN investigators have declared Abd El-Fattah's imprisonment in breach of international law. Earlier this year, Keir Starmer promised he would 'do everything I can' to ensure his release. In a statement on Friday, Soueif's family said she had received glucagon treatment, which induces the liver to break down stored fat to obtain glucose, but continued to refuse treatment that would provide her with calories. She was previously admitted to hospital in February, with doctors saying she was at 'high risk of sudden death'. In March, she agreed to move to a partial hunger strike following a call between Starmer and the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Abd El-Fattah has been on his own hunger strike for 90 days since his mother's admission to hospital in February. Explaining her decision to resume a full hunger strike, last week Soueif said: 'I have never seen [the UK government] act as if the situation was urgent, except when I was hospitalised. For me and for my family the situation is urgent. We have used up more days than we ever thought we had. We need Alaa released now. We need Alaa with us now. We need Alaa reunited with his son, Khaled, now.'
