Laila Soueif, the mother of Alaa Abdel-Fattah, a prominent Egyptian rights activist, has started a hunger strike in an effort to pressure authorities to release her son. Abdel-Fattah, who gained recognition for his involvement in the 2011 pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East, particularly in Egypt’s revolution against President Hosni Mubarak, is currently serving a prison sentence. Soueif announced that her son, aged 42, should have been released after completing a previous five-year prison term on September 29.
Abdel-Fattah has spent a significant portion of the past decade behind bars, becoming a symbol of Egypt’s shift towards autocratic rule under President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Initially sentenced in 2014 for participating in an unauthorized protest and allegedly assaulting a police officer, he was released in 2019 but rearrested later that year during a government crackdown following rare anti-government demonstrations. He was sentenced to an additional five years in late 2021 for spreading false news, despite his family’s claims that his pre-trial detention should be considered part of his current sentence as per the country’s penal code.
Raising concerns about Abdel-Fattah’s extended detention, 59 Egyptian and international rights organizations have signed a joint appeal, fearing that he may not be released until 2027. Despite requests for comments on the case, an Egyptian government media representative did not respond immediately.
Abdel-Fattah faces other charges in Egypt, including accusations of misusing social media and affiliating with a terrorist group, believed to be the banned Muslim Brotherhood, classified as a terrorist organization by authorities in 2013. His family has been advocating for his release and has urged the U.K. government to aid in securing his freedom, especially after he obtained a U.K. passport in 2022.
The activist intensified a hunger strike while in prison at the beginning of the U.N. climate conference, COP27, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, by abstaining from food and water. His health deteriorated rapidly as his family was denied visitation rights, prompting them to escalate their efforts to draw attention to his case and that of other political detainees in Egypt. Abdel-Fattah ultimately ended his hunger strike after collapsing and losing consciousness after a few days.
The hunger strike shed light on Egypt’s severe restrictions on freedom of speech and political activities. Since 2013, President el-Sissi’s administration has cracked down on dissidents and critics, leading to the imprisonment of thousands, the near prohibition of protests, and heightened surveillance of social media. Human Rights Watch estimated in 2019 that approximately 60,000 political prisoners are held in Egyptian penitentiaries.