Prominent Egyptian activist celebrates 100 days of hunger strike

Supporters of prominent Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who will be on hunger strike for 100 days on Sunday, are calling on Washington to help with his release, a statement said.

Abdel Fattah, a key figure in the 2011 revolt that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, was sentenced to five years in prison in December after being convicted along with two others of “spreading false news”.

Sunday will mark 100 days of his major strike, his support committee said in a statement. He was only consuming “100 calories a day in the form of a spoonful of honey and a drop of milk in tea,” the statement said on Saturday.

His sister Sanaa Seif will address his case Monday ahead of a Middle East tour by US President Joe Biden in Washington on Monday, the statement said.

Other Arab leaders, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, are expected to be present in Saudi Arabia when Biden visits the kingdom as part of his trip.

Another sister, Mona Seif, continues to draw attention to the plight of rights groups, which around 60,000 say are political prisoners in Egypt. For months she has been collecting letters of support from European legislators.

Mona Seif announced this week that she is suspending her own hunger strike, which she began in solidarity with her brother.

“Alaa is currently serving a five-year sentence for sharing a Facebook post about prison conditions in Egypt,” the support committee’s statement said.

“He is on hunger strike and is demanding his right to consular access from the British Embassy,” he added.

Abdel Fattah obtained British citizenship from prison in April through his British-born mother, Laila Soueif.

Egypt’s Interior Ministry said last month it had footage “refuting” reports of his hunger strike.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in June that Britain was “working very hard to get his release”.

The UK government is now in disarray after Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister this week.

Egypt is slated to host the COP27 climate summit in November, a role that Human Rights Watch says “rewards” President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s “repressive rule.”