Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd El Fattah poses for a photo in unknown location, in this undated handout image obtained by Reuters on Nov. 8, 2022. (Credit: Courtesy of Omar Robert Hamilton/Handout via Reuters)
Jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah's health has "deteriorated severely," his sister said Thursday after the first family visit since he ended a seven-month-long hunger strike.
Mona Seif said news from the visit was "unsettling," in a message on Twitter. "Alaa deteriorated severely in the past two weeks, but at least they got to see him, and he needed to see the family so much," she wrote.
After seven months of consuming only "100 calories a day," Abd El Fattah later escalated his strike to all food. He stopped drinking water on Nov. 6 to coincide with the start of the UN COP27 climate summit in Egypt.
Thursday was the first time the activist's mother, Laila Soueif, was allowed to visit him in nearly a month, after prison authorities repeatedly denied her access last week. The family has not disclosed more information about the visit or Abd El Fattah's status, but "will share the full details later," Seif added.
The pro-democracy blogger is currently serving a five-year sentence for "spreading false news" by sharing another user's Facebook post about police brutality.
Egypt's turn hosting the UN climate summit in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh is coming to an end this week. Intended to burnish the country's image, COP27 has brought a wave of criticism over Egypt's human rights record, with Abd El Fattah's case making global headlines.
Rights groups estimate Cairo is holding some 60,000 political prisoners, many of them in brutal conditions and overcrowded cells.