A demonstrator holds placards as he demands the release of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd El Fattah near the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, on Nov. 7, 2022. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — The family of jailed Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd El Fattah said Thursday they were told by prison authorities that medical intervention was taken to maintain his health, four days after he escalated his protest.
Abd El Fattah, who has been on hunger strike since April 2, said he would stop drinking water on Sunday to coincide with the opening of the COP27 climate change talks that Egypt is hosting in Sharm el-Sheikh.
The activist's lawyer, Khaled Ali, said Thursday that Egypt's public prosecutor had granted him permission to visit the prison, northwest of Cairo, where he is being held. Abd El Fattah's sister, Mona Seif, said Ali was negotiating access at the prison.
Abd El Fattah's hunger strike has loomed over the UN talks, with another sister, Sanaa Seif, flying in to campaign for his release, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raising the issue with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Abd El Fattah's mother has been making daily visits to the prison this week. She has received no news from her son but said prison officials spoke to her outside the gates on Thursday.
"They said medical procedures were implemented to maintain his health and that legal entities have been informed," Laila Soueif told Reuters by phone. "Nobody has officially notified us of any action that has been taken."
Without water, Abd El Fattah's health could rapidly deteriorate and the United Nation's rights agency has expressed concern for his life.
Egyptian officials have not responded to Reuters' requests for comment. They previously said Abd El Fattah was being given meals.
The blogger and activist rose to prominence in Egypt's 2011 uprising before being swept up in a far-reaching crackdown on political dissent after Sisi, then army chief, led the 2013 ouster of Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Mursi.
Rights groups say tens of thousands of people have been arrested since then, including Islamists, leftists and liberals. Sisi and his supporters say security and stability are paramount.
'Still in prison'
Abd El Fattah was most recently sentenced in December 2021 to five years in prison on charges of spreading false news. That same month, he gained British nationality through his mother.
He is on hunger strike against his detention and prison conditions. British officials have unsuccessfully sought consular access to visit him in prison. Soueif said she was not told the nature of the medical intervention.
"They say he's still in prison," she said on Thursday. "They refused to allow me to wait outside the prison, refused to receive any letters from me."
Abd El Fattah's family said in a statement: "We are demanding information on the substance of the 'medical intervention' and demanding that with the utmost urgency he is moved to a hospital where lawyers and family can reach him."
The family's campaign for his release has brought a backlash from pro-government figures and media.
Local media reported that an Egyptian lawyer submitted a legal case calling for Sanaa Seif's arrest for "conspiring with foreign agencies" and "incitement against the Egyptian state". Pro-government talk-show hosts have dismissed criticism of Egypt's human rights record.
One pro-government member of Egypt's parliament was escorted by UN security guards out of a news conference at COP27 on Tuesday when he refused to pass over the microphone after questioning the family's bid for an amnesty and for international support.
Reporting contributed by Farah Saafan.