A mother who has been on a 150-day hunger strike to secure her son’s release from jail in Cairo may end her fast if UK ministers make any progress in their efforts to release him. Laila Soueif, 68, has been protesting outside Downing Street for an hour every weekday to keep her son’s cause in the minds of ministers.

Soueif was taken to hospital on Monday after her hunger strike led to a dangerous fall in her blood sugar levels. Her doctor said that there was an “immediate risk to life including further deterioration or death” and that she was “in particular at high risk of sudden death with continued fasting.” She is now under observation at St Thomas’ hospital in central London.

Her son, British-Egyptian prize-winning writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah, was jailed by the Egyptian government and has been in custody since September. The Egyptian government is refusing to provide even British consular access to Abd el-Fattah as it does not recognize dual national status.

Keir Starmer has twice written to the Egyptian President, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, to discuss Abd el-Fattah’s fate. However, Starmer has been unable to secure a phone call with Sisi, despite making requests to do so. The UK’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva also raised Abd el-Fattah’s unlawful detention at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Soueif’s family member stated that it seems the entire British government is unable to secure a call. Soueif has always said her fast is about securing some sign of progress in her son’s release, but so far, there has been nothing, and she feels she cannot stop her hunger strike.

When Soueif was admitted to the hospital, her blood sugar levels dropped to 2.0 mmol/L and her blood pressure reading was low. She is not taking glucose treatment because of her hunger strike, but due to low sodium readings, she has been put on a saline drip.

Starmer met with the family a fortnight ago, but Downing Street disclosed little about what he is willing to do to secure Abd el-Fattah’s release. The Foreign Office is looking at what incentives it could provide to the financially strapped Egyptian government to convince it that it would be in Egypt’s economic interests to show clemency.

In November 2022, David Lammy, then the shadow foreign secretary, described a £4bn trade partnership with Egypt as “tremendous leverage.” The World Bank also announced it would provide $6bn to Egypt over three years, and it is likely the UK will be involved in providing some financial support.

The family is frustrated that there is no cross-government policy to make contracts with the Egyptian government contingent on progress with Abd el-Fattah’s release.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/feb/26/mother-of-egypt-detainee-alaa-abd-el-fattah-hunger-strike-uk