Fears for health of Alaa Abd el-Fattah and mother as hunger strikes take toll

Laila Soueif holds a portrait of her son while protesting outside Downing Street in London in January. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters

The family of the imprisoned British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah say they fear for his health along with that of his mother, Laila Soueif, as both continued their hunger strikes to demand his freedom.

Relatives of Soueif said they were worried she was “dying in slow motion” after eight months on full or partial hunger strike. “What are we supposed to do, just sit around and wait to die?” said Soueif.