Egyptian hunger striker hospitalized

CAIRO - The family of a prominent jailed Egyptian activist on hunger and water strike said Thursday he has been hospitalized amid growing concerns about his health.

Mona Seif, the sister of Alaa Abdel-Fattah, said Thursday that prison officials said "medical intervention" has been taken for him.

Abdel-Fattah, 40, who is serving a five-year sentence on charges of disseminating false news, escalated his hunger strike earlier this week. He stopped drinking water November 6, the day Egypt opened the UN Climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.

He rose to fame during the 2011 pro-democracy uprisings that swept through the Middle East, toppling Egypt’s long-time President Hosni Mubarak. Abdel-Fattah has spent the majority of the past decade behind bars with his detention becoming a symbol of the North African country’s return to autocratic rule.

World leaders and activists have repeatedly called for Egyptian authorities to release the activist.