1-6-2025
An Egyptian woman Laila Soueif protesting the detention of her son has gone on without food for 245 days and still counting.
Her son Alaa Abd El-Fattah, 43, has been detained in Egypt since September 29, 2019, and in December 2021 was sentenced to five years in prison after being accused of spreading false news.
Laila was admitted to London’s St Thomas’ hospital on Thursday and amid fears for her life, her daughter Sanaa Soueif today told Sky News’ Matt Barbet the past two nights were “really tough”.
“It’s a miracle mum is alive,” she said. “At some point [last night] the blood sugar machine was not reading, but my mum is still conscious. She’s holding on.”
Activist Mr Fattah has been in prison more or less continuously since 2014 over his role in the pro-democracy Arab Spring protests in 2011.
He was briefly free for six months before being rearrested in 2019 for “disseminating false news” after retweeting a report that said another prisoner had died in custody.
“I need the British government to treat my brother like a hostage,” Sanaa said. “There is no legal merit to holding him any longer.” Sky News