Activists have used hunger strikes recently to protest the arrest of thousands of people.

The mother and sister of two jailed Egyptian pro-democracy activists have ended a 76-day hunger strike they had undertaken to press for the release of imprisoned government critics.

Activists have used hunger strikes recently to protest the arrest of thousands of people in a sweeping government crackdown on dissent. Rights groups say dozens of prisoners are on hunger strike.

In a statement announcing the end of their strike, Mona Seif said the experience made her “truly appreciate more the struggle of the brave detainees in our country’s prisons.”

Seif’s brother Alaa Abdel-Fattah is currently facing a retrial on charges of organizing an illegal protest, and her sister Sanaa was convicted for breaking the same law along with 22 other activists.

 
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