(CNN) — The family of Alaa Abdel Fattah, an Egyptian political activist who obtained British citizenship in 2021, said on Thursday that he had stopped his hunger strike, which lasted more than 200 days, following he was given an injection to obtain fluids in prison.
Abdel-Fattah’s family stated, in a statement, that they were able to visit him in prison today for the first time since October 24, and his sister, Sanaa Seif, said on Twitter that her brother was “weak and emotional” during the visit.
She added, “We saw him, all he needed was our presence around him, but once more, the visit was behind a glass barrier.”
According to the statement, Alaa Abdel-Fattah collapsed while showering last Friday and lost consciousness.
The family said that Abdel Fattah may have to “resume his hunger strike soon if there continues to be no real movement on his case,” and added that “despite world leaders and human rights organizations calling for his release, there have been no negotiations with the authorities, and no promises made.” “.
“We hope that the massive global interest in Alaa’s case and the tens of thousands of people who are now standing by him will lead to his release,” she added.
Earlier this month, Alaa escalated his hunger strike, which lasted more than 200 days, and stopped drinking water, a development that coincided with the meeting of world leaders in Egypt to attend the activities of the Climate Summit (COP 27).
On Tuesday, Sanaa Seif said that she had received a message confirming that her brother had ended his hunger strike, and a message allegedly from Alaa Abdel Fattah, posted on Sanaa Seif’s Twitter account, stated: “I ended the strike.”
“We just received this message. Alaa broke his hunger strike. I don’t know what’s going on inside, but our family is scheduled to visit on Thursday and he is asking for a cake to celebrate his birthday,” Sana Seif wrote on her Twitter account with a picture of the message.
On Monday, Sanaa Seif said that Egyptian prison officials sent a message to her mother stating that Abdel Fattah was alive and began drinking water once more on Saturday.
Seif held a press conference last week, during which she said that the family does not know if Abdel Fattah is alive, and the Egyptian authorities have repeatedly rejected calls for his release.
It is noteworthy that Abdel Fattah, one of the prominent voices in the 2011 uprising that toppled the government of dictator Hosni Mubarak, was imprisoned for most of the past decade, and in 2019 he was sentenced to another 5 years in prison for allegedly spreading false news following he shared a post on Facebook highlighting human rights violations in prisons. Egyptian.
