Latest news with #CivilDemocraticMovement
Mada
26-02-2025
- Health
- Mada
Laila Soueif at ‘immediate risk' amid hunger strike, parties ask Sisi for Alaa Abd El Fattah's release
'There is now immediate risk to life, including further deterioration or death' for Laila Soueif, mother of long-imprisoned writer and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, her doctor stated on Tuesday, commenting on Soueif's health condition due to the prolonged hunger strike in which she has protested for the release of her son. Soueif began her hunger strike on September 30 to protest Egyptian authorities' refusal to release Abd El Fattah at the end of his five-year imprisonment, according to a statement made by the family at the time. The doctor's assessment came following Soueif's hospitalization on Monday at St Thomas' Hospital in London. In line with the news of Soueif's health crisis, the Civil Democratic Movement (CDM), a coalition of opposition parties and entities, issued an urgent appeal on Wednesday to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, calling for the president to issue a presidential pardon for Abdel Fattah and end his family's 'suffering.' Her continued fast presents a 'serious risk to her health,' according to her doctor, who said potential outcomes include permanent damage to her organs, particularly her heart and brain, and that she is 'at high risk of sudden death with continued fasting,' The letter, issued by the doctor responsible for her care at the hospital, was anonymized and published online by the campaign calling for Abd El Fattah's release. Alongside her fast, Soueif and her family have petitioned for authorities in Egypt and the United Kingdom, where they also hold nationality, to step in and release the writer from jail. According to the doctor's letter, dated February 25, the fast has led to critical refractory hypoglycaemia, or low blood sugar. They added that Soueif is also suffering from significant weight loss with loss of body sugar and fat stores, as well as low blood protein levels due to the lack of nutrition. Soueif previously told Mada Masr that during the hunger strike she would consume only water and rehydration solutions from 'the first minute of September 30.' Her campaign said other than this, she has consumed only black coffee and herbal tea. Mona Seif, one of Laila's daughters, said on Tuesday that despite her mother's deteriorating condition, she continues to refuse glucose, a view echoed by her doctor who noted that she is resolute in refusing glucose 'until the resolution of the situation involving her son.' Since his involvement in the January 2011 revolution, Abd El Fattah has spent most of the past decade in prison on political charges. He served a five-year sentence following his conviction on charges of illegal protest in the case that became known as the ' Shura Council Incidents,' and was to spend five additional years on probationary measures that included spending every night in a police station starting from his release in 2019. Yet he was soon re-arrested, after he republished an activist's post about the death of a prisoner under torture in the Aqrab Prison. He was detained pending investigations into the commonly deployed offense of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news, and held in remand detention for more than two years. He was ultimately referred to trial on only false news charges, and sent to the court, which sentenced him to five years. 'Alaa has completed his sentence, and he is eligible for release because his time in pretrial detention should be counted, Alaa's sister said in a video on her social media platform on Tuesday. 'Alaa should be released because we have been submitting a direct request to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for months, urging him to grant a pardon for Alaa and consider the years that have been taken from his life and [his son's].' Abd El Fattah's defense lawyer, Khaled Ali, has previously stated that prosecutors refused to consider the two years Abd El Fattah spent in remand detention before he was referred to trial as part of his five-year sentence. Public Prosecutor Mohamed Shawky has rejected the family's request to count the two years of detention that Abd El Fattah spent in prison as part of his five-year prison sentence. This means Abd El Fattah will continue to be imprisoned until January 3, 2027, amid fears, expressed by Amnesty International, that authorities will then resort to other tactics to extend his imprisonment further. Tens of individuals, political activists and public figures announced a 24-hour collective hunger strike on social media platforms, to take place on Wednesday 26, in solidarity with Soueif's strike and in protest of her son's continued imprisonment. In the Wednesday statement, parties in the CDM added that Souief's willingness to sacrifice her life for her son's freedom will 'leave a profound and lasting mark' on the conscience of those concerned with the nation and who aim for political reform, economic recovery and the establishment of a democratic state that upholds freedom of expression. The broadly liberal alliance of political groups then took the opportunity to call for the release of those held in remand detention on political charges, the pardon of others convicted in cases similar to Abd El Fattah and the reopening of the public space for political and civic engagement amid what CDM called 'external challenges and threats.' 'Whatever the method, whatever the release, it doesn't matter,' said Mona Seif in her video appeal. 'What matters is that Alaa is released and Mom doesn't die, and we are left alone.'
Mada
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Mada
Politicians call on Sisi to release Alaa Abd El Fattah
A group of politicians, party representatives and public figures have called on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to release detained activist, writer and software developer Alaa Abd El Fattah. The group launched their appeal on Monday at the home of academic and activist Laila Soueif, who has been on hunger strike for 127 days to demand the release of her son. During the conference, which Mada Masr attended, attendees signed a statement recited by the family's lawyer, Khaled Ali. Ali emphasized that the call came out of urgent concern for Soueif's life, as 'medical reports indicate she is on the brink of death.' A foreign diplomatic source told Mada Masr that Egyptian officials have denied that Soueif is on hunger strike. The statement read at Monday evening's presser said that moving to release those who were imprisoned because of their views, including Abd El Fattah, would not merely be a humanitarian response, but 'a strategic decision that would foster a more conciliatory political climate.' Addressing Sisi, the statement read: 'Wise judgment dictates decisions that build trust, and we are confident that you understand the significance and positive implications of such a step.' Ali argued that there are grounds for Abd El Fattah's release on the basis that his custodial term should have come to an end in September last year. The courts have rejected an appeal that Ali filed to demand the release. The foreign diplomat said that Egyptian officials say Abd El Fattah's term of imprisonment will not end until 2027 on the grounds that the two years he spent in remand detention before he received a sentence were in connection with a separate case and therefore do not count toward his prison term. The family of Abd El Fattah, who was previously imprisoned in 2015 before being detained again while on probation in 2020, have expressed concern that authorities will continue to find reasons to keep their relative in prison beyond the 2027 release date. Several attendees on Monday evening, including prominent Civil Democratic Movement member Hamdeen Sabbahi, noted that a political consensus emerged for Abdel Fattah's release during the early stages of the National Dialogue in 2022, something that he said indicates that the issue is 'resolved in principle and not insurmountable.' While some political detainees — such as Ahmed Douma, Ziad Elelaimy and Hossam Moanes — were eventually freed in the wake of the dialogue launch, releases then came to a halt. Sabbahi stressed that the movement remains committed to knocking on every door possible despite 'poor communication.' Farid Zahran, head of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, likewise said that the call for Abd El Fattah's release would continue despite the stalled releases. He dismissed the notion that external pressure should dictate the fate of prisoners of conscience, asserting that 'their release is imperative under all circumstances.' 'We agreed to make this appeal on purely humanitarian grounds,' said Gameela Ismail, leader of the Dostour Party, underscoring that this was yet another attempt after multiple efforts to push for the same demand. Conservative Party head Akmal Kortam, meanwhile, emphasized that the demand is also 'a legal one and a matter of justice that must be upheld,' pointing to 'the widespread injustice in this country.' Akram Ismail, head of political affairs at the Bread and Freedom Party, expressed 'deep personal pain' that Soueif had to go to such extremes as 'risking her life' in the fight for her son's freedom. Speaking to the gathering via video-call from London, Soueif described her hunger strike as a means to create a deliberate crisis for both the British and Egyptian governments — since both she and Alaa hold dual citizenship —'to force them to act.' She reaffirmed her commitment to continuing her hunger strike 'until Alaa is released or my health completely collapses. In the worst-case scenario, my life will be the price for my children's lives. But I hope for the best scenario.' Abd El Fattah's family have escalated their calls for his release since September, which marked the passage of five years that he spent in detention. He was arrested in 2020 and held in remand detention for two years before being convicted by an emergency state security court of spreading false news that threatened national security. Prior to that, he had served five years for protesting without a permit in the years following the January 25 Revolution. The public prosecutor rejected the family's request to have Abd El Fattah's remand detention counted toward his sentence and his emergency court sentence was ultimately ratified. When he was not released in September, Soueif began a full hunger strike in protest. She later traveled to the United Kingdom, where she has continued holding daily demonstrations outside the British government headquarters, urging intervention with Egyptian authorities to secure her son's release. Abd El Fattah's family has submitted repeated requests for the grant of a presidential pardon, most recently in December. Rights groups have also made appeals, while nearly 500 women recently signed a petition urging Entisar al-Sisi, Egypt's first lady, to intervene and save Soueif's life by securing her son's release. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sent a letter to Abd El Fattah's family days ago, reaffirming his commitment to working 'at all levels of government' to secure his release. He noted that he had raised the issue in his first call with Sisi. 'I believe progress is possible, but it will take time,' he wrote, after emphasizing that the final decision rests with Egyptian authorities.
