Mum of activist jailed in Egypt 'miraculously' alive on day 247 of hunger strike

Laila Soueif, 69, stopped eating on September 29 last year after her British-Egyptian son, Alaa Abd el Fattah, was due to be released after more than a decade in an Egyptian jail cell
A grandmother who is eight months into a hunger strike over her son's imprisonment is "miraculously" still alive, but is at "immediate risk" of sudden death, her daughter warned.
Laila Soueif, 69, stopped eating on September 29 last year - a day after her British- Egyptian son, Alaa Abd el Fattah, was due to be released after a decade in an Egyptian jail cell because of his writings on democracy. Now, 247 days into the grandmother's huger strike, loved ones fear she is on the brink of death. Mrs Soueif, who had been surviving on just water and rehydration salts, was admitted to London's St Thomas' Hospital on Thursday. Her daughter Sanaa Soueif said the past two nights were "really tough". She told Sky News: "It's a miracle mum is alive. At some point [last night] the blood sugar machine was not reading, but my mum is still conscious. She's holding on."
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Soueif told the Today programme on Tuesday she was prepared to die if that was what it took to get her son released.
Activist Mr Fattah has spent nearly every year since 2014 behind bars for his involvement in the 2011 pro-democracy Arab Spring protests. He was briefly released, only to be re-arrested in 2019 for "disseminating false news" after retweeting a report claiming another prisoner had died in custody.
Soueif, who is growing weaker and weaker by the day, told the BBC: "He finished his sentence for God's sake. It was an unfair sentence rendered by a kangaroo court. He should have been out of that jail on 29 September."
Her daughter, Sanaa, has urged the UK government to "act now" otherwise it might be "too late". She said: "I need the British government to treat my brother like a hostage. There is no legal merit to holding him any longer." Addressing the UK's strong ties with Egypt, 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.
"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," she said.
Laila said she was sent a letter by a doctor on Friday warning that her mum 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."

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