The mother of jailed Egyptian-British dissident Alaa Abd el-Fattah was hospitalized Monday night as she approached the 150th day of a hunger strike protesting her son’s imprisonment in Egypt.
Laila Soueif, 68, who has lost nearly 30 kg (66 lb) since beginning her fast in September, was admitted to St. Thomas’ Hospital after her blood sugar levels dropped dangerously low, her daughter said in a post on X.
Abd el-Fattah, a software developer and blogger who gained prominence as an activist during the 2011 Arab Spring, is serving a five-year prison sentence in Egypt over a social media post. He has been jailed multiple times, both before and after the uprising.
Soueif, a mathematics professor, has been on hunger strike, consuming only herbal tea, black coffee, and rehydration salts, since Egyptian authorities failed to release her son on his scheduled release date of Sept. 29.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have repeatedly raised Abd el-Fattah’s case with Egyptian officials.
Starmer met with Soueif this month, pledging to do everything possible to secure Abd el-Fattah’s release.
“We are all hoping for Laila’s health,” British junior foreign office minister Hamish Falconer said Tuesday in parliament. “The prime minister has undertaken to take every effort that he can in order to try and ensure Alaa’s release.”
A representative for the Egyptian embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment.
Speaking Monday at the U.N. Human Rights Council, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Atty said Egypt was implementing its human rights strategy through initiatives such as a national pardons committee, a national dialogue, and a new criminal law.
Abd el-Fattah’s former prison mate, Australian journalist Peter Greste, joined Soueif’s hunger strike for three weeks last month.
Speaking outside the hospital, Abd el-Fattah’s sister, Sanaa, said she remained frustrated with the British government but held onto hope that Lammy and Starmer could secure her brother’s release. “I hope they feel the urgency,” she told the AP.