(CNN) — The family of Alaa Abdel Fattah, an Egyptian political activist who gained British citizenship in 2021, said on Thursday they had ended his hunger strike, which lasted more than 200 days, after being injection to obtain fluids in prison.
Abdel-Fattah’s family said in a statement that they were able to visit him in prison today for the first time since Oct. 24, and his sister, Sanaa Seif, said on Twitter that her brother was “weak and emotional” during visit .
She added: “We saw him, all he needed was our presence around him, but again, the visit was behind a glass barrier.”
According to the statement, Alaa Abdel-Fattah collapsed while taking a shower last Friday and lost consciousness.
The family said Abdel Fattah may have to “resume his hunger strike soon if there is no real movement on his case” and added that “although world leaders and human rights organizations are calling for his release, there is no negotiations have been made with the authorities, and no promises made.” “.
“We hope that the huge global interest in Alaa’s case and the tens of thousands who now stand by him will lead to his release,” he added.
Earlier this month, Alaa stepped up his hunger strike, which lasted more than 200 days, and stopped drinking water, a development that coincided with world leaders meeting in Egypt to participate in the activities of the climate summit (COP 27).
On Tuesday, Sanaa Seif said she received a message confirming her brother had ended his hunger strike, and a message purportedly from Alaa Abdel Fattah, posted on Sanaa Seif’s Twitter account, stated, “I have ended the strike.”
“We just received this message. Alaa has stopped his hunger strike. I don’t know what is going on inside but our family is supposed to visit us on Thursday and he is asking for a cake to celebrate his birthday,” Sana Seif wrote about her . Twitter account with an image of the message.
On Monday, Sanaa Seif said Egyptian prison officials sent a message to her mother stating Abdel Fattah was alive and she started drinking water again on Saturday.
Seif held a press conference last week, during which he said the family does not know if Abdel Fattah is alive and Egyptian authorities have repeatedly rejected calls for his release.
Interestingly, Abdel Fattah, one of the leading voices in the 2011 uprising that toppled the government of dictator Hosni Mubarak, has been jailed for most of the last decade and was sentenced to another 5 years in prison in 2019 for alleged spread of false news after sharing a post on Facebook highlighting human rights violations in prisons.
