British-Egyptian political prisoner Alaa Abd El-Fattah is now on the fifth straight day of a complete hunger and water strike as his family and supporters continue to press for his release and proof he is still alive. Earlier today, prison officers informed the family “medical intervention was taken,” though no further details about his condition are known. This is his mother, Laila Soueif, speaking Wednesday from outside the jail where Alaa has been held, about 60 miles north of Cairo. 

Laila Soueif: “Up until yesterday, I could have believed that he was fine, but he can’t be all right after four days without any intake. … He believes that if this ends in his death, the political price will be high for the regime. And he has already achieved that with the scandal that has happened.”

Alaa’s sister Mona Seif has tweeted that a lawyer has been granted permission to visit Alaa in prison, but, she wrote, “Unbelievable! At the prison they are trying to prevent Khaled Ali from the visit!!” 

Meanwhile, a complaint has been filed against Alaa’s sister Sanaa Seif, accusing her of “conspiring with foreign agencies” and “spreading false news.” The case has not yet been accepted by the public prosecutor, but it puts Sanaa at risk of detention while she is in Egypt for COP27.