Overview
- Laila Soueif is in critical condition at St Thomas’ Hospital after 247 days without food and doctors warn of irreversible organ damage and sudden death.
- The UN has ruled that Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s detention is arbitrary under international law and called for his immediate release.
- Abd el-Fattah has been held in Wadi El Natrun prison despite finishing his five-year “spreading false news” sentence in September 2024 and over a decade of imprisonment.
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have lobbied Egyptian counterparts at the highest levels, though the family says UK efforts have yet to secure progress.
- Celebrities including Brian Cox, Mark Ruffalo and Bill Nighy, alongside over 100 UK parliamentarians, have urged the government to deploy tougher measures to win his freedom.