'High death risk' for UK-Egyptian mother on hunger strike

The mother of a British-Egyptian activist imprisoned in Cairo, Laila Soueif, has been warned by doctors that her life is in danger due to a prolonged hunger strike aimed at securing her son's release. According to her family, 68-year-old Laila Soueif was admitted to a London hospital on Monday, with dangerously low levels of blood sugar, blood pressure, and sodium.

She is reportedly currently receiving intravenous fluids, but she is refusing glucose treatment as she persists with her hunger strike. A letter from consultants at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, which her family made public on Tuesday, warned that she "faces a high risk of sudden death" if she continues to refuse food.

The letter concluded: "I have repeatedly stressed the importance of stopping her hunger strike or accepting artificial glucose or nutrition to reduce the risk to her life. However, she has stated firmly that she will not consider doing so until her son’s case is resolved." Laila Soueif's sister, novelist Ahdaf Soueif, posted a photo late on Tuesday showing her sitting by her bedside at St Thomas' Hospital with her daughter, Mona Seif, beside her.

Ahdaf Soueif wrote on X: "Just left Laila and Mona at St Thomas' Hospital. We pray and push for the locked doors to open, for Alaa and for all those unjustly detained." Laila Soueif has lost 35% of her body weight since beginning her hunger strike in September, consuming only herbal tea, black coffee, and rehydration salts.

Her family is hoping that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will call Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to resolve her son's case, whose latest five-year sentence should have ended last September. Her other daughter, Sanaa Seif, said in a statement on Wednesday morning: "If Keir Starmer is able to pick up the phone and speak to President Sisi, I believe he can secure my brother's release and save my mother's life."

Sanaa Seif added: "Keir Starmer must make this call today. Every moment he waits means my mother is more likely to die." After meeting Laila Soueif earlier this month, Keir Starmer pledged to "do everything I can to secure the release of her son Alaa Abd El-Fattah and reunite him with his family." He added: "We will continue to raise his case at the highest levels of the Egyptian government and urge his release."

Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a 43-year-old blogger and pro-democracy activist, is one of Egypt's most prominent political prisoners. He was arrested in September 2019, just six months after completing a previous five-year sentence. He was convicted in 2021 of "spreading false news" for sharing a Facebook post about torture in Egyptian prisons. Egyptian authorities refused to count the more than two years he spent in pre-trial detention towards his sentence. Although he was granted British citizenship in 2021, Egypt has never allowed British diplomats to visit him for consular access. His own hunger strike in 2022 during the UN climate conference hosted by Egypt led to international calls for his release and improved conditions in prison.