A mom who has gone on starvation strike after her activist son was detained in Egypt is looking on the international secretary to behave quick – with time, she says, “running out”.
Picture:
Alaa Abd el Fattah along with his mom. Pic: Household handout
The 43-year-old has been in jail roughly constantly since 2014 over his position within the pro-democracy Arab Spring protests in 2011.
The British Egyptian spent six months as a free man earlier than being rearrested in 2019 and handed a “completely unfair sentence” in 2021.
Ms Soueif, who’s assembly Overseas Secretary David Lammy to debate the case on Wednesday, mentioned he has reassured her that getting her son launched was a “priority” and discussions had been happening with Egyptian counterparts.
However the maths professor mentioned the identical reassurances got to her by the Conservatives over their final two years of presidency.
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Picture:
Mr Fattah ought to have been launched on the finish of September. Pic: Household handout
“I expected something different from Mr Lammy,” she mentioned whereas pointing to how as shadow international secretary, he urged the Tories to behave as “there were measures the British government could take”.
“So now that he is foreign secretary I expect him to implement some of those measures,” she mentioned.
Ms Soueif mentioned she will probably be in search of proof of progress when she meets Mr Lammy on Wednesday.
“We are all running out of time, I’ve already been on this strike for 60 days I am still functioning semi-normally but I can’t expect that to last,” she mentioned.
“I don’t want to have my health collapse or to die. I am sure Mr Lammy would be very embarrassed if that happens.”
The Overseas Workplace has been contacted for remark, as have Egyptian authorities, together with their embassy in London and governate in Cairo.
