Who is Alaa Abd el-Fattah and why are British diplomats trying to obtain his release? Patrick Wintour reports
Laila Soueif, 69, has been on hunger strike in London for more than 250 days in an effort to secure the release of her son, the activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, from jail inEgypt. As diplomatic pressure mounts, she is now in a critical condition.
Alaa’s sisterMona Seifdescribes toMichael Safithe toll that imprisonment has taken on her brother, her mother’s determination to do whatever she can to secure his release, and the difficulty of coming to terms with her mother’s decision to risk her life.
The Guardian’s diplomatic editor,Patrick Wintour, describes meeting Soueif and says she and her British-Egyptian family have a long history of activism. This includes a reported past incident between her husband, Ahmed Seif, and the Egyptian president,Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, that many believe may be influencing Alaa’s potentially indefinite detention.
The two discuss the attempts made by different British governments to secure her son’s release, the Foreign Office’s strategic considerations, and possible diplomatic options.
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