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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

British mother of Egyptian political prisoner to press Lammy to take action

British citizen Laila Soueif
Laila Soueif has been on hunger strike for more than eight weeks in the hope her protest will secure her son’s release from prison in Egypt now that his sentence has been served. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

The British-born mother of an Egyptian political prisoner who has been on hunger strike for 58 days is preparing to meet the foreign secretary, David Lammy, to urge him to secure her son’s release.

Laila Soueif’s son Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a British and Egyptian dual citizen who wrote eloquently about the Arab spring and its aftermath, was jailed for five years for “spreading false news”. He was due to be released in September, but has not been freed.

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