Laila Soueif: Jailed British-Egyptian activist’s mother in hospital after 242-day hunger strike

The mother of a jailed British-Egyptian activist has been hospitalised after resuming a hunger strike to campaign for his release.

Laila Soueif’s daughter has implored Sir Keir Starmer to “act now” after her mother was hospitalised on Thursday after resuming a full hunger strike on May 20.

“Keir Starmer needs to act now. Not tomorrow, not Monday. Now. Right now it’s a miracle that last night passed. It’s a miracle that we still have her,” Sanaa Seif said.

Mrs Soueif has been refusing food for 242 days in protest against the imprisonment of her son, Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British-Egyptian activist jailed for sharing a Facebook post about torture in Egypt.

A spokesperson from the Foreign Office said: “We are concerned to hear of Laila’s hospitalisation. We remain in regular contact with Laila and her family and have checked on her welfare. We are committed to securing Alaa Abd El-Fattah’s release and continue to press this at the highest levels of the Egyptian government.”