In brief
As Laila Soueif reaches the 55-day mark of her hunger strike, she remains resolute in her fight for the freedom of her son, Alaa Abd El Fattah, a prominent Egyptian political prisoner whose detention is part of a broader crackdown on dissent in Egypt.
Laila Soueif, a 68-year-old mathematician and professor, emphasizes that her hunger strike, which commenced on September 29, stems from her despair over her son’s fate. Alaa Abd El Fattah, a leading figure against the regime of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, originally was expected to be released after serving five years, but Egyptian authorities have since indicated that they will not consider the two years he spent in pretrial detention, pushing his release date to 2027. The current situation represents a broader sentiment of suppression in the nation, with reports indicating tens of thousands of political prisoners. Defiantly, Ms. Soueif plans to persist with her hunger strike fueled only by water, rehydration salts, and unsweetened beverages, stating that she hopes her actions will instigate significant attention and pressure on the UK government to intervene. “I won’t back down and I will be very visible,” she asserted during an interview in London. “When people ask, ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ I say, ‘I’m creating a crisis.’”
