Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the British-Egyptian democracy activist jailed in Egypt, has told his family in a letter that he has ended his six-month-long hunger strike, which he began in protest against his detention conditions.
“I’ve broken my strike. I’ll explain everything on Thursday,” he told them, in reference to his monthly family prison visits to the Wadi el-Natrun desert prison where he is being held. The democracy activist was sentenced to a further five years in prison last year for sharing a social media post about torture, shortly after gaining British citizenship through his mother.
We just got this letter. Alaa has broken his hunger strike. I don’t know what’s happening inside, but our family visit is scheduled for Thursday and he’s saying to bring a cake to celebrate his birthday. #FreeAlaa pic.twitter.com/tEk02T5hcW
— Sanaa (@sana2) November 15, 2022
Abd el-Fattah, a figurehead of Egypt’s 2011 revolution who has spent most of the past decade behind bars, began a partial hunger strike in April in protest at his detention conditions, spending more than six months consuming only 100 calories a day. According to his family, his health has deteriorated markedly.
He escalated to a full hunger strike the week before Cop27, and then ceased drinking water on the day the conference began in Sharm el-Sheikh. He told his family repeatedly beforehand that he expected to die in prison.
The news that Abd el-Fattah had broken his strike came after Egyptian public prosecutors said the activist had received a “medical intervention” last week, without specifying further.
In a letter to his family written last Saturday, Abd el-Fattah provided the first proof of life his family had received in two weeks, telling them that he had resumed drinking water.
“From today I’m drinking water again so you can stop worrying until you see me yourself. Vital signs today are OK. I’m measuring regularly and receiving medical attention,” he told them.
Abd el-Fattah is due to mark his 41st birthday on Friday. “The important thing is I want to celebrate my birthday with you on Thursday, I haven’t celebrated for a long time, and want to celebrate with my cellmates so bring a cake, normal provisions,” he told his family in his latest letter. His communications are heavily monitored by prison authorities.
Prisoners in Egypt’s sprawling detention system, which houses at least 65,000 political prisoners, normally require their families to provide food and other basic items to sustain them.
“I feel cautiously relieved now knowing that at least he’s not on hunger strike but my heart won’t really be settled until Thursday, when my mother and sister see him with their own eyes,” said Mona Seif, Abd el-Fattah’s sister.
His lawyer, Khaled Ali, has made three unsuccessful attempts to visit his client at the prison, despite having gained permission to do so from Egypt’s public prosecutor. Ali’s visit was intended to provide updates about Abd el-Fattah’s wellbeing and status, including what motivated him to begin drinking water and to begin eating, and whether he had been subjected to treatments without his consent.
“At this point the family have no further information about what has happened inside prison or what is informing Alaa’s decision,” Abd el-Fattah’s family said in a statement.
Another sister, Sanaa Seif, who attended Cop27 to campaign for her brother’s freedom and demand freedom for other political prisoners, is due to visit Wadi el-Natrun on Thursday.
“We’re counting down the days until Thursday now to find out what’s been going on inside prison with Alaa,” she said.
