THE government has been “far too slow to act” in seeking the release of Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who is on hunger strike in a prison near Cairo as his fate “hangs in the balance,” Amnesty International told the Morning Star yesterday. 

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told MPs on June 21 that she was working to secure Mr Fattah’s release and is seeking a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry when he visits Britain, which is expected this week. 

Mr Fattah is a 40-year-old “pro-democracy” activist and blogger who first became widely known during the 2011 uprising in Egypt that forced the resignation of then president Hosni Mubarak.