Alaa Abdel Fattah badly affected by hunger strike - family

The family of the British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah have been able to visit him in prison in Egypt for the first time in a month.

His sister, Mona Seif, said his health had "deteriorated severely" as a result of the hunger strike he escalated two weeks ago before ending it on Monday.

"But at least they [their mother and sister] got to see him, and he needed to see the family so much," she added.

Ms Seif said the family would "share the full details" later on Thursday.

Abdel Fattah, Egypt's best known political prisoner, is currently serving a five-year sentence for allegedly "spreading false news" in a social media post.

He began a partial hunger strike in April, consuming a maximum of 100 calories a day, to protest against his conditions and Egyptian authorities' refusal to allow British diplomats to consular access.

His family's last prison visit was on 24 October, a week before he decided to stop consuming food altogether. On 6 November, he also started refusing water to coincide with the start of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, hoping to increase the pressure Egypt's leaders.

Last Thursday, his mother, Laila Soueif, was told by prison officials that he had undergone an unspecified "medical intervention".

This week, she received letters from him, dated Saturday and Monday, saying that he had first resumed drinking water and then ended his hunger strike.