Laila Soueif ends hunger strike amid concerns for her deteriorating health

After nearly 300 days, Laila Soueif, mother of long-imprisoned writer and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, ended her hunger strike, her daughters Sanaa and Mona Seif said on Monday morning. 

Soueif’s decision came a few days after her family and rights figures pleaded for her to take medical advice and end her strike, following her brief readmission to hospital in London that her daughters said was due to a deterioration in her health.

Mona Seif’s latest statement stressed that Soueif is still in critical condition, explaining that while doctors have started a refeeding plan, several risks connected with prolonged malnutrition still need to be considered, including refeeding syndrome.

Doctors have warned that the prolonged hunger strike could cause permanent damage that may extend to vital organs, while Soueif received a medical recommendation during her hospital admission last week to end her strike, at least temporarily.

After her admission to hospital, Mona issued a plea for her mother to end the strike, fearing for her life. She called on those close to her mother to intervene and help convince her to end the strike to save her life and prevent the family from enduring yet another loss.

The plea was followed by other calls that were made for Soueif to end her hunger strike, from family friends and public figures, including Mohamed al-Baqer, Abd El Fattah’s former lawyer. In his statement, Baqer urged Soueif to end the strike, not because her efforts were futile, but out of the “horror of losing” her. 

Soueif began her hunger strike on September 30 to protest Egyptian authorities’ refusal to release Abd El Fattah at the end of his five-year sentence on false news charges, according to a statement made by the family at the time.

Through extreme weight loss and several hospital admissions, Soueif has remained adamant that she will continue her strike as a last resort to pressure authorities in both Egypt and the United Kingdom to intervene to release Abd El Fattah. She and her son hold nationality in both countries.

Abd El Fattah has been imprisoned since 2019, despite being sentenced to five years after being convicted on false news charges.

Authorities refuse to count the two years he spent in remand detention toward his sentence. Amnesty International has cautioned that officials may find grounds to extend his detention beyond 2027, while a group of United Nations experts has concluded that the writer is now being held arbitrarily.

Sanaa Seif stressed in her statement that Abd El Fattah is still committed to the partial hunger strike he began in prison on March 1. 

“And he is still in prison, despite the fact that his sentence is finished,” she concluded.