February 8th 2025.
Up Next, we have a story of a determined mother, Laila Soueif, who has been sitting outside 10 Downing Street for 130 days on a hunger strike. She's fighting for the freedom of her son, Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who has been imprisoned in Egypt for the past five years. Laila's unwavering dedication and strength have been evident as she has consumed nothing but herbal tea, black coffee, and rehydration salts during her protest outside the gates of power.
Alaa, a prominent pro-democracy activist, was sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly "spreading false news" on social media, which included simply liking a Facebook post about torture in Egyptian prisons. Despite being due for release in September 2024, the authorities refused to acknowledge the more than two years he had already spent in pre-trial detention and ordered him to remain in prison until January 3, 2027. Laila expressed her frustration with the injustice, stating, "Nobody should be imprisoned for speech or writing - nobody."
Laila's protest has now reached the gates of Downing Street, where her nephew diligently marks the number of days she has been on hunger strike. She firmly believes that countries that claim to be democracies and uphold the rule of law should not tolerate such violations of basic human rights. Alaa's involvement in the 2011 uprising that overthrew former President Hosni Mubarak has made him a target for the current regime. He has also previously gone on a hunger strike during Egypt's hosting of the COP27 climate conference, which ended with him losing consciousness and being revived with water.
Laila, who holds both British and Egyptian citizenship, is calling on the government to put pressure on Egypt to release her son. She emphasized that Egypt's European and Egyptian allies should not turn a blind eye to the thousands of political prisoners who have been detained for simply expressing their opinions. The situation is dire, with as many as 60,000 political prisoners currently behind bars in Egypt, despite President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi denying the existence of any political prisoners in a 2019 interview with US news program "60 Minutes."
Amidst this oppression, Laila's hunger strike is a symbol of hope and resistance. However, her health is deteriorating, and she knows that she may collapse before her son is released. But she remains determined, saying, "I'm going on until either Alaa is released or I collapse. And I don't know how long that will be." The Foreign Office has stated that their priority is securing the release of Alaa so he can be reunited with his family, but the Egyptian government has not responded to requests for comment on his continued detention. Laila's fight for her son's freedom is a reminder of the power of a mother's love and the need for justice and human rights to prevail.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
