Alaa Abdel-Fattah: Jailed activist's health 'deteriorated'

The health of jailed Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah has "deteriorated severely," his family said Thursday. 

Several of his family members, including his mother, aunt and one of his sisters, visited him in prison, the first time seeing him in nearly a month. 

"Alaa deteriorated severely in the past two weeks, but at least they got to see him, and he needed to see the family so much," another sister of Abdel-Fattah, Mona Seif, tweeted. 

Abdel-Fattah intensified a hunger strike at the beginning of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, earlier this month. He ended his hunger strike earlier on Tuesday, after more than 220 days.  

During the height of his hunger strike, Abdel-Fattah was only consuming "100 calories per day," according to his family. Prison authorities at one point made an unspecified medical intervention in regards to Abdel-Fattah, amid fears that he was being force-fed. 

The Egyptian activist is expected to turn 41 years old later this week. Alaa Abdel-Fattah had requested his mother bring a birthday cake during Thursday's visit.

Who is Alaa Abdel-Fattah? 

Abdel-Fattah, a software engineer and blogger, first rose to prominence during the 2011 Egyptian revolution against longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. He took part in anti-government protests that eventually toppled Mubarak's regime, making him one of Egypt's most high-profile pro-democracy activists.

Abdel-Fattah's human rights work made him a frequent target for the authorities, and he spent the decade following the 2011 revolution in and out of prison.  

During rare anti-government protests in September 2019 against Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, the activist was arrested on unknown charges.

After spending two years in pre-trial detention, he was given a five-year sentence for spreading "fake news" for sharing a Facebook post about a prisoner who died in custody in 2019.

Abdel-Fattah received British citizenship earlier this year, as his mother was born in the UK. His family has urged the British government to put pressure on Cairo and secure Abdel-Fattah's release. 

During the COP 27 event in Sharm el-Sheikh, world leaders have raised the issue of Abdel-Fattah's imprisonment with the Egyptian government. Egyptian officials have characterized Abdel-Fattah as a national security threat, and claimed he is in good health behind bars. 

wd/fb (AP, Reuters)