Jailed Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah has lost nearly a third of his body weight during a hunger strike that has now lasted 98 days, his sister Sanaa Seif revealed on Friday after visiting him briefly at a prison near Cairo.
Describing her brother as “very thin but composed,” Seif shared details of their 20-minute meeting, which took place behind glass with no physical contact permitted.
Abdel-Fattah, 43, stopped eating solid food in March to show solidarity with his mother, prominent academic Laila Soueif, who began her hunger strike 250 days ago to demand his release. She launched her protest on September 29, 2024 — the day Abdel-Fattah was legally due to be freed after completing a five-year prison sentence.
In May, a panel of United Nations experts condemned Abdel-Fattah’s imprisonment as arbitrary and called for his immediate release.
Despite growing international pressure, including a recent call from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, his detention continues.
According to his family, Abdel-Fattah is surviving on a minimal intake of herbal tea, black coffee, and rehydration salts.
Meanwhile, his mother’s health has deteriorated significantly. She was recently hospitalised in London with dangerously low blood sugar levels after resuming a full hunger strike.
Before Sanaa Seif travelled to Egypt, her mother reluctantly agreed to receive a glucose drip to stay alive during her daughter’s absence.
Recounting the prison visit, Seif wrote that her brother wakes each day, overcome with worry about their mother’s condition. There were no hugs or extra time allowed — just a strict, brief encounter that underscored the emotional strain facing the family.
Abdel-Fattah, once a prominent figure in Egypt’s 2011 pro-democracy movement, has spent much of the past decade in prison under successive Egyptian regimes. He was last arrested in 2019 and sentenced to five years for allegedly “spreading false news” after sharing a Facebook post about police violence.
While President Sisi’s government has released hundreds of prisoners since 2022, including Abdel-Fattah’s lawyer, Mohamed al-Baqer—the activist’s name has repeatedly been omitted from pardon lists, deepening concerns over his well-being and the government’s stance on dissent.
