 On November 14th, the family of jailed British-Egyptian activist, Allah Abdul Fattah, confirmed that he had started drinking water once again. On the 6th of November, as the world's eyes were trained, on the city of Sharm el-Sheikh for COP 27, Egyptian-British activist, Allah Abdul Fattah, drank his last sip of water. Held at the Badi el-Natrun prison, north of Cairo, the step marks a grave escalation of Fattah's months-long struggle for freedom. An icon of Egypt's 2011 revolution, the 40-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison in December 2021, on charges of spreading false news that undermines national security. The trial, which was marked by major due process violations, was not the first time that the activist was hounded and jailed by the Egyptian state. Fattah has spent eight of the last ten years in prison. He was first jailed in 2013 after the military coup led by President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. Then again in 2015. Near months after being granted conditional release in 2019, Fattah was imprisoned again. Before being sentenced in 2021, Fattah spent over two years in pre-trial detention under brutal conditions, which at one point even drove him to contemplate suicide. In April 2022, Fattah launched a partial hunger strike to demand freedom. By May, he was shifted from the Torah prison to a rehabilitation centre in the Wadi al-Natrun complex. Fattah is among over 60,000 people believed to be held as political prisoners under President al-Sisi. On the 1st of November, Fattah announced that he would only drink water ahead of launching a full hunger strike on the 6th. His family has warned that he may only live a few more days, given that his health has declined significantly because of a seven month long hunger strike. Despite a serious threat to safety and freedom, Fattah's sister and activist, Sana Saif, arrived in Shamal Sheikh on the 7th of November to draw attention to this case. Right now all we know is that Allah has stopped drinking water 50 hours ago. We don't know where he is. We don't know if he's alive. My mother waited outside the prison gates for 10 hours yesterday for her weekly letter. They didn't give her one. She's back at those gates right now. I asked the British authorities to get us some proof that Allah is alive and conscious. I did not get any response. Right here in this conference centre, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, who is also the co-president, has been giving interviews saying there's nothing to worry about and that the prison have medical facilities. President Sisi made a commitment to President Macron that Allah's health will be preserved and these statements really worried me. Saif previously held a sit-in outside the UK Foreign Office in October to force the United Kingdom government to take concrete action towards his release. Fattah's family has reportedly condemned the UK government for failing to act, especially given that he is a UK citizen. Finally, on the 5th of November, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wrote to the family saying that the government was committed to resolving his case and that Fattah was a priority. Sunak added that UK officials were pushing for consular access to Fattah and calling for his release at the highest levels of the Egyptian government. When asked about Fattah at COP 27 by Vice World News on the 7th of November, Sunak was rushed away from the scene. All I know is that he stopped water yesterday morning and my mom is outside the prison trying to get any information or a letter but so far nothing and I've asked the British government to get us daily proof of life because we will not be able to get proof of life. In the absence of meaningful official action, Fattah's cause has been taken up in a major way by the delegations attending COP 27 as well as progressive leaders, activists and writers. When the floor was opened to question, Saif was heckled by Egyptian member of parliament, Amar Darwish, who was then escorted out of the venue. As Fattah's family campaigns tirelessly for his release, they've been joined by the United Nations Human Rights Chief, Volker Turk, who warned on November 8 that his life was in great danger. Turk called on the Egyptian authorities to fulfill their human rights obligations and immediately release all those arbitrarily detained, including those in pretrial detention as well as those unfairly convicted. UK Foreign Office Minister Andrew Mitchell confirmed in cabinet that Fattah's case had also been raised by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. However, consular access has still not been secured. Meanwhile speaking in UK Parliament, Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lambie called for serious diplomatic consequences if Allah is not freed and reunited with his family and consular access continues to be denied. I've just read a bit more of this letter. This kid's been not a kid. This man has been in prison for nine years. Nine years in an Egyptian prison, Rishi Sunak. In case you don't know, mate, you're the new Prime Minister of England. This is one of your subjects and he's rotting in some filthy jail cell in Egypt dying of self-imposed hunger. Nine years they've had him locked up for nothing. Please, Rishi, do something about it. Today. Do it today. Save this man's life. Today. Please.