Release of activist jailed in Egypt will take time, Starmer tells mother

The mother of a jailed British-Egyptian who has vowed not to eat until he is freed says Sir Keir Starmer has written to her saying her son’s release is possible but will “take time”.

Laila Soueif, who has been on hunger strike for 124 days in protest over her son’s imprisonment, wrote in response that time is running out as her health worsens.

Pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, 43, has been detained in Egypt since September 29 2019, and in December 2021 was sentenced to five years in prison after being accused of spreading false news.

His mother had previously criticised the Prime Minister for not responding to a letter she had sent him, but said he has now written back saying that “at all levels of government, we are working intensively on his case”.

Sir Keir expressed his commitment to securing Mr Abd El-Fattah’s release and ended the letter, dated January 29, by saying he believes that “progress is possible, but it will take time”, she said.

She replied: “I do not know if we have time. It has been four months since Alaa finished his sentence and I began my hunger strike. Already my body has miraculously given us more time than anything we could have expected when this began.”

Ms Soueif was joined by Amnesty International chief Agnes Callamard earlier this week to “wait for news” about her son outside Downing Street.

David Lammy raised the case with officials in Cairo last week, and the Prime Minister has also brought it to the attention of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Downing Street has said.

More than 50 cross-party MPs and peers have sent a letter to Sir Keir expressing concern about Ms Soueif’s health and urging the Prime Minister to speak to Mr El-Sisi directly by phone or in person.

“We respectfully ask you to intensify efforts across the whole of Government to make Alaa’s urgent release a reality. We are in a critical period for Laila’s health,” the letter urges.

Ms Soueif has been subsisting solely on black coffee, restorative salts and herbal tea during the hunger strike and has lost more than 20 kilograms in weight.