British-Egyptian activist undergoing ‘medical intervention’ days after escalating hunger strike

Egyptian prison authorities have intervened medically days after jailed British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah escalated his hunger strike, his mother said.

The nature of the intervention is not known but Mr Abd El-Fattah’s family have expressed fears prison officials will force-feed the activist.

The family say this would amount to torture.

Mr Abd El-Fattah, 40, was sentenced to five years in prison in Egypt in December last year after being charged with spreading fake news.

The activist was charged over a Facebook post he shared about human rights abuses in Egyptian prisons in 2019.

His imprisonment has become a symbol of a return to autocracy in Egypt.

Mr Abd El-Fattah’s mother Leila Soueif, said she spoke to prison authorities by phone and asked them if her son was undergoing any medical procedure and they said he was.

She told the Associated Press news agency she asked “if it was by force, and they said no” and told her “Alaa is good”.

Mr Abd El-Fattah had been on a partial hunger strike of 100 calories a day for the past six months.

He stopped all calorie intake and began refusing water on Sunday – the first day of the COP27 climate summit held in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

His hope was to get the attention of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who attended the UN-led summit this week, and persuade him to take immediate action for his release.

Mr Abd El-Fattah is now in a prison hospital following the escalation in his hunger strike.

The activist said in an earlier letter that he was prepared to die in prison if not freed.

Ms Soueif has called for her son to be transferred to a civilian hospital rather than a prison facility.

“I need proof for this. I don’t trust them,” she said.

She has been waiting outside the prison every day this week, asking for proof her son is alive.

Mr Abd El-Fattah’s sister Mona Seif has said she has now been informed by prison officials that he is undergoing “medical intervention”.

The activist’s family have been increasingly worried for his health and continuously campaigned for his release ahead of COP27.

They also organised a sit-in outside the UK Foreign Office.

Mr Abd El-Fattah’s younger sister Sanaa Seif said last week in a public address to world leaders at COP27: “You are going to be in the same land as a British citizen dying.

“And if you don’t show that you care, it will be interpreted as a green light to kill him. My brother can be saved.”

“If you don’t save him, you have blood on your hands.”

Mr Abd El-Fattah rose to prominence during the pro-democracy uprisings in 2011 which took place throughout the Middle East and played a role in dismounting Egypt’s long-time president Hosni Mubarak.

World leaders and activists have repeatedly called for Egyptian authorities to release him.

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At COP27, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz raised the activist’s case in their talks with Mr el-Sissi.

Celebrities who have spoken out in support of Mr Abd El-Fattah include Dame Judi Dench, Dame Emma Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, Carey Mulligan and Khalid Abdalla.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg even refused to join the COP27 because she disagreed with the country’s human rights abuses.

The environmentalist was seen pictured at a protest in solidarity of Mr Abd El-Fattah