The mother of Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist imprisoned in Egypt, has said she is willing to die on hunger strike if it means securing her son’s release.
Laila Soueif, speaking from her hospital bed at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, made a desperate appeal to the UK Prime Minister to intervene directly and pressure Egyptian authorities.
Abd El-Fattah, a dual national and prominent voice during the 2011 Arab Spring, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2021 on charges of spreading false news. He was due for release last year.
In an emotional interview with BBC, Mrs Soueif declared: “My message is: use my death as leverage to get Alaa out. Don’t let my death be in vain.”
The 69-year-old academic has been on hunger strike for more than eight months and now weighs just 49kg, having lost 42% of her body weight. Doctors have warned that she is at risk of sudden death.
“It’s something that I passionately don’t want to happen,” she told the broadcaster.
She added: “Children want a mother, not a notorious mother – whether the notoriety is good or bad – but if that’s what it takes to get Alaa out of jail and to get all my children and grandchildren’s life back on track, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
