Must Laila Soueif die from her hunger strike in London before her son Alaa Abd el-Fattah is released? | Helena Kennedy

Egypt’s lack of respect for the rule of law is alarming and Britain should impose sanctions to ensure his freedomUK should impose sanctions on Egypt over jailed activist, says Helena KennedyLaila Soueif is one of the most determined people I know, and for that reason, she is in grave danger. The grandmother, 69, is lying in a hospital bed in central London, perilously close to death after 245 days on hunger strike. She could still survive, but it will depend on the UK government taking strong action.Soueif stopped eating to try to save her son, the imprisoned British-Egyptian national Alaa Abd el-Fattah, an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience and winner of the 2024 English PEN writer of courage award. He has spent more than a decade in an Egyptian jail cell because of his writings on democracy. Soueif wants more than anything else to reunite him with his own son, 13, who lives in Brighton and has barely been able to spend time with his father.Helena Kennedy KC is a Labour peer and was chair of the Power inquiry into the reform of democracyDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Comments

Opinions

It's time to stop the scaremongering over heat pumps

The Herald

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: What made Jane Seymour perfect for her 'virginal' James Bond role? And what did King Charles ask royal finance chief to investigate about Andrew?

about 4 hours ago

The Pride month vibes are off, but there's still hope.

NPR

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Children are being killed because we are too scared of being called racist. When will this dangerous madness end?

about 12 hours ago

Dailymail

TOM UTLEY: Mrs U has a self-imposed hosepipe ban. But I don't know why she bothers when Thames Water wastes more than half a BILLION litres every day

about 12 hours ago

Dailymail

JAN MOIR: Meghan's bizarre twerking in the delivery room is just the latest desperate bid for publicity from the Sussexes. Whatever happened to their pleas for privacy?

about 12 hours ago

Dailymail

Billionaire oligarch's lover is thrown out of her home with her kids while a sports presenter hits back at 'horrific' criticism about her weight: RICHARD EDEN'S DIARY

about 12 hours ago

Dailymail

ANDREW PIERCE: Reform's precocious political ingenue will be back, but there is deep trouble at the heart of Farage's party

about 12 hours ago

A top MAGA defector has told me the REAL revenge Elon's plotting... it could destroy Trump's legacy: KENNEDY

Dailymail

The week in whoppers: Hakeem Jeffries flips inflation on its head, Chuck Schumer scaremongers on the GOP’s budget bill and more

about 13 hours ago

Democrats pledge to help people break the law, no matter the cost

Newyork Post

BRYONY GORDON: I was fat-shamed at eight and quickly learned my value was based on my dress size. It plunged me into a world of depression, OCD and eating disorders... this is how I finally snapped out of it

about 20 hours ago

Dailymail

Thomas Tuchel's love-in with Jordan Henderson does not say much for the leadership skills of Declan Rice and Co, writes IAN LADYMAN

about 20 hours ago

PETER HITCHENS: The police are revolting against the people of this country

Dailymail

Comments

Similar News

Senate must advance SAVE Act

Why must I whisper softly and quietly about my love for Morrissey?

Sadiq Khan is right: Britain must decriminalise cannabis – or remain in the dark ages | Simon Jenkins

French trawlers must be BANNED from UK waters until there is visible evidence of them stopping the dinghies

We in the cultural sector must stand up to Trump’s attacks – if not now, when? | Gus Casely-Hayford

To revitalize American shipbuilding and grow our Navy, we must expand orders of warships

Voters must fight Dems’ new war on small-town America

Britain must stand ready to recognise Somaliland | Letter

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: I've got huge concerns about rugby's rebel league. These are the questions they MUST answer

Edinburgh must not kill off the golden goose that makes its fortune

'Edinburgh must remain a lived-in city not ruined by the tourism its beauty attracts'

Rachel Reeves must think big to fund Labour’s ‘battle-ready’ Britain. Tweaks and tinkering won’t do | Polly Toynbee

America must lead in AI, with eyes wide open

Issues in social housing that Labour must tackle | Letters

Humiliating arrival of 1,194 illegal migrants in a single day must be a watershed moment in immigration crisis

The Guardian view on alcohol and public health: the drinks industry must not control the narrative | Editorial

PM must stand firm and keep the two-child benefit cap – Welfare is already out of control

Russia’s war in Ukraine must end, here’s how it could happen

Business must do its part to support U.S. border control

Campaign to recruit new foster families must go on

Opinions

It's time to stop the scaremongering over heat pumps

A vital debate for tertiary education sector

This is a set-back and an opportunity for the SNP - which one will they embrace?

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: What made Jane Seymour perfect for her 'virginal' James Bond role? And what did King Charles ask royal finance chief to investigate about Andrew?

The Pride month vibes are off, but there's still hope.

It's quaint the things you find in some people's bathrooms...

Best get used to it: Reform and indy will be at the heart of our debate for years

Edinburgh's West Town: A new city rising – or a chance slipping away?

I know frustration of commuting from Edinburgh's suburbs by bus. Here's my solution

Please tell us, Mr Swinney: how exactly would you defend Scotland?

HBO and the cursed child

Island of strangers? So who should we listen to on immigration?

Gun rights under fire

Ryan Routh, duct tape assassin

The Chinese spies among us

Trump and Rumble are at the center of the global battle for free expression

South Korea's tumult and what's at stake for America

We live in the land of the free because of the brave

Senate must advance SAVE Act

Christian baker's plight highlights California's disregard for First Amendment

Lefties furious at the ‘indignity’ of deporting illegal migrants should really blame the guy who let them all in

QUENTIN LETTS: So noble was the minister's school-meal pulpiteering, you'd think it was the abolition of slavery

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Children are being killed because we are too scared of being called racist. When will this dangerous madness end?

TOM UTLEY: Mrs U has a self-imposed hosepipe ban. But I don't know why she bothers when Thames Water wastes more than half a BILLION litres every day

JAN MOIR: Meghan's bizarre twerking in the delivery room is just the latest desperate bid for publicity from the Sussexes. Whatever happened to their pleas for privacy?

Billionaire oligarch's lover is thrown out of her home with her kids while a sports presenter hits back at 'horrific' criticism about her weight: RICHARD EDEN'S DIARY

ANDREW PIERCE: Reform's precocious political ingenue will be back, but there is deep trouble at the heart of Farage's party

A top MAGA defector has told me the REAL revenge Elon's plotting... it could destroy Trump's legacy: KENNEDY

New York City’s needed e-bike crackdown: Letters to the Editor — June 6, 2025

Fresh grounds to snap back Iran sanctions — and block it from getting a nuclear bomb

Ignore the hysteria over GOP ‘cuts’ to Medicaid — it would still GROW dangerously fast

The week in whoppers: Hakeem Jeffries flips inflation on its head, Chuck Schumer scaremongers on the GOP’s budget bill and more

Democrats pledge to help people break the law, no matter the cost

Trans influencer filming in the women’s room at Disney World is everything that’s wrong with this selfish movement

Zohran Mamdani’s anti-Israel stance disqualifies him AND anyone who supports him

Douglas Murray: Liberals turn killers, racists, and haters into martyrs

SCOTUS’ unanimous discrimination call is a huge win for equality

Biden WH flack Karine Jean-Pierre’s latest ruse just moves her from one ‘grift’ to another

Square Mile needs a reboot - and cutting back on tax and regulation could work wonders: ALEX BRUMMER

Protecting Net Zero dreams over national security reality could prove an expensive mistake for Labour

Frederick professional team provides fans old school fun in new age era

Doctor Who’s demise is an overdue lesson for woke BBC – & a warning to other companies who’ve become slaves to diversity

Why are hard working parents paying for school meals for kids of lazy feckless scroungers who can’t be bothered to work?

Letter to the editor: Biden signature forgers should be brought to justice

Letter to the editor: Leftist judges add insult to terrorist-inflicted injury

Letter to the editor: Starting from scratch 40 years later

Did government mislead me or are they just incompetent? Either way, it’s a problem

Build skyscrapers as tall as you want, just please stop building eyesores

Why must I whisper softly and quietly about my love for Morrissey?

BRYONY GORDON: I was fat-shamed at eight and quickly learned my value was based on my dress size. It plunged me into a world of depression, OCD and eating disorders... this is how I finally snapped out of it

Thomas Tuchel's love-in with Jordan Henderson does not say much for the leadership skills of Declan Rice and Co, writes IAN LADYMAN

PETER HITCHENS: The police are revolting against the people of this country

Letters to the Editor: The Dodgers' and Giants' Big Oil ads are just normal economic competition

Democrats and their faux 'independent' thinking

How the power of music brings communities together

It's no surprise to us that the hulking nonsense Glen Sannox is failing

Story of crook who wanted to sell Scottish tea to China is like an Ealing comedy