Ahdaf Soueif for the London Review of Books:
A small movement has formed around my sister. A groundswell of public support in Egypt expresses itself through letters, messages and appeals. In Paris, Berlin, Rome and Washington DC, there have been protests and readings from Alaa’s book, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated. In London there is a vigil every evening at seven. People bring flowers and children’s drawings: they speak of her and of their own prisoners in countries around the world, and they form a web of understanding and solidarity that stretches far beyond their spot at her hospital door.
Inside, 250 days into her strike, Laila moves between a bed and a wheelchair. Once robust and stormlike, she is now small and frail. She has lost 41 per cent of her body weight. Her blood sugar levels have dropped to a point where nobody understands why she hasn’t passed out. But her grip on consciousness and conscience remains firm.