Mother of jailed UK-Egyptian vows to maintain hunger strike

Laila Soueif, mother of Egyptian-British blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah, who has been detained in Egypt for more than five years, is continuing her hunger strike. Laila Soueif, 68, who has not eaten for 59 days, has urged British Foreign Minister David Lammy to take action to secure her son’s release.

The blogger was arrested in September 2019 by Egyptian authorities after sharing a text about torture in prisons. He was convicted of “spreading false information” in 2021, and should have been released in September 2024, given his pre-trial detention period, which the Egyptian authorities refused to add to the total five-year sentence.

After her meeting with Mr Lammy, Soueif told the press that she intended to continue her hunger strike. “It is possible to resolve this situation and to do it quickly. That is what I am betting on with my health and my life,” she added.

Questioned by MPs on Tuesday, David Lammy said that Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised the blogger’s case during a meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in August and that he himself also spoke about it this week with his Egyptian counterpart.

Alaa Abdel Fattah has been imprisoned several times since 2006. He obtained British citizenship in 2022 through his British-born mother.