Mother of jailed Egyptian activist ends hunger strike

Laila Soueif, the mother of jailed Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, has ended her 10-month hunger strike, her family told AFP. The 69-year-old academic began her protest in September 2024, after her son was not released despite completing a five-year sentence for "spreading false news."

Soueif is now in hospital under medical supervision. Her daughter Mona warned of the risk of refeeding syndrome, a potentially fatal complication after prolonged fasting. On Sunday, Soueif symbolically ended the strike by consuming sugar cubes.

Abdel Fattah, a prominent figure in Egypt’s 2011 uprising, has spent much of the past decade in prison. He was most recently arrested in 2019 over a Facebook post about police brutality and began a partial hunger strike in March in solidarity with his mother.

A UN panel has called his detention arbitrary and urged his release. Despite high-level UK-Egypt diplomatic talks, including with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Abdel Fattah remains imprisoned.