Egypt hunger striker under ‘medical intervention’
THE family of Egyptian-british hunger striker Alaa Abd el-fattah said yesterday that they were told by prison authorities that medical intervention was taken to maintain his health, four days after an escalation of his protest.
Abd el-fattah, who has been on hunger strike since April 2, had said he would stop drinking water on Sunday to coincide with the opening of the COP27 climate change talks Egypt is hosting in Sharm el-sheikh.
His strike has loomed over the UN talks, with one of his sisters, Sanaa Seif, flying in to campaign for his release, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raising the issue with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-sisi.
Abd el-fattah’s mother has been making daily visits to the prison where he is being held north-west of Cairo.
She has received no news from her son, but said prison officials spoke to her outside the gates yesterday.
“They said medical procedures were implemented to maintain his health and that legal entities have been informed,” Laila Soueif said.
“Nobody has officially notified us with any action that has been taken.”
Without water, Abd el-fattah’s health could rapidly deteriorate and the UN’S rights agency has expressed concern for his life. Egyptian officials have not responded to Reuters requests for comment. They said previously that Abd el-fattah was being given meals. The activist rose to prominence in Egypt’s 2011 uprising before being swept up in a far-reaching crackdown on political dissent after Sisi, then army chief, led the 2013 ouster of Egypt’s first democratically elected
president, Mohamed Mursi.
Rights groups say tens of thousands of people have been arrested since then, including Islamists, leftists and liberals. Sisi and his supporters say security and stability are paramount.
Abd el-fattah was sentenced most recently in December 2021 to five years on charges of spreading false news, the same month he gained British nationality through his mother.
He is on hunger strike against his detention and prison conditions. British officials have unsuccessfully sought consular access to visit him in prison. Soueif said she was not told the nature of the medical intervention.
“They say he’s still in prison,” she said yesterday. “They refused to allow me to wait outside prison, refused to receive any letters from me.”
Abd el-fattah’s family said: “We
are demanding information on the substance of the ‘medical intervention’ and demanding that with the utmost urgency he is moved to hospital where lawyers and family can reach him.”
The family’s campaign for his release has triggered a backlash from pro-government figures and media.
Local media have reported that an Egyptian lawyer submitted a legal case calling for Sanaa Seif’s arrest.