SHARM EL-SHEIKH: The family of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah said today they were told by prison authorities that medical intervention was taken to maintain his health.

“They said medical procedures were implemented to maintain his health and that legal entities have been informed,” his mother Laila Soueif told Reuters by phone.

“Nobody has officially notified us with any action that has been taken.”

Abd el-Fattah, a prominent activist and blogger, was sentenced in December 2021 to five years on charges of spreading false news and has been on a hunger strike for 220 days, since April 2, against his detention and prison conditions.

In an escalation that coincided with the arrival of world leaders in Egypt for the COP27 climate conference, he informed his family that he would stop drinking water on Sunday.

“They say he’s still in prison,” Soueif said.

“They refused to allow me to wait outside prison, refused to receive any letters from me.”