The jailed activist who ‘could die before Cop27 ends’ as he stops drinking water

Jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has stopped drinking water as he steps up his hunger strike, his sister has said. The move coincides with the start of the COP27 summit in Egypt as calls for his release escalated.

Alaa Abdel Fattah has consumed just 100 calories for more than 200 days as he is pushing Egypt to allow him UK consular access. The 40-year-old is a key activist in the 2011 Arab Spring and is currently serving a five-year sentence for allegedly spreading false news.

His sister, Sanaa Seif, warned that her brother’s hunger and water strike may mean that he could die before the end of COP27 summit. Urging the British government to be “responsible for getting us proof of life”, Sanaa Seif expressed concern over Alaa Abdel Fattah’s release.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak wrote to Abdel Fattah’s family and said he would raise his imprisonment with the Egyptian government. Rishi Sunak said that Abdel Fattah’s case is “a priority for the British government both as a human rights defender and as a British national”.

Amnesty International secretary general Agnes Callamard also said that Abdel Fattah “must be released” and warned that he may only have 72 hours to live.

“Let’s be very clear, we’re running out of time,” she said, adding, “So if the authorities do not want to end up with a death they should have and could have prevented, they must act now.

“If they don’t, that death will be in every single discussion in this COP,” she further said.