Sir Keir Starmer must intervene in the case of a dual national who is imprisoned in Egypt, his mother has said 58 days into a hunger strike.
Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a 43-year-old British-Egyptian pro-democracy writer, was sentenced to five years in prison after being accused of spreading false news in December 2021.
Based on his sentence, he should have been released in September but remains behind bars, according to the Free Alaa campaign which is calling for his release.
I am not about to break my hunger strike until Alaa is released
His 68-year-old mother Laila Soueif is now 58 days into a hunger strike in protest over his continued imprisonment in Egypt.
She has met with David Lammy about her son’s case, after urging the Foreign Secretary to take further action to free him.
At a press conference in central London on Wednesday, Mrs Soueif said she hoped her message got through to Mr Lammy.
“My main message was I am on hunger strike, I am not about to break my hunger strike until Alaa is released,” she said.
Mrs Soueif said it was a “lucky break” she had not yet collapsed, not just for her own sake, but to spare the Foreign Secretary and the Egyptian government embarrassment.
She added: “I think Mr Lammy did believe my claim. In that sense at least I think this was not a wasted meeting, and we will see how things go from there.
“I am still waiting for concrete results. I still believe that there is something that the present British Government can achieve.”
Mrs Soueif said she did not agree with suggestions from Mr Lammy that navigating a careful relationship with the Egyptian government because of its influence in Gaza had a bearing on her son’s case.
And she added that in a scenario where a “final push” was needed to get her son out of prison, Sir Keir would need to be involved.
Mrs Soueif told the press conference: “Since everyone is telling us that this is a personal issue with (Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-) Sisi, then surely the person to push for an end to this personal issue is the Prime Minister.
“It is not going to be resolved on a ministerial level, it has to be the Prime Minister.”
On her own health, she told the PA news agency she felt “semi normal” despite nearly two months without food.
“How long that will last, god knows,” Mrs Soueif added.
She had earlier told reporters: “I am still on hunger strike, I am remaining on hunger strike. I believe that it is possible to get this done, and to get this done quickly.
“That is what I am betting on. I am betting on that with my health and my life and as I have been saying we have all been given this break.
“Let’s use it before we lose it, because if I collapse, obviously that is very bad for me and my family and bad for Alaa but also it is going to be very embarrassing for both the British and Egyptian governments and we really shouldn’t get there.”
Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Lammy said he was determined to “see Alaa reunited with his family”.
In answer to a question about Mr El-Fattah’s situation, he added: “With the terrible situation in Gaza, it is important that this Government continues to speak to our Egyptian friends who have obviously real proximity to Gaza particularly.
“But I understand the strength of feeling and that’s why the Prime Minister’s raised this, I have raised this on successive occasions, and we will continue to lobby – he’s a dual national – we will continue to lobby on his behalf.”
