Dozens join hunger strike for release of Egypt political prisoners

Alaa Abdel Fattah (R), one of the activists who was summoned by the public prosecutor on whether he had a role in the recent violent anti-Islamists protests, arrives with his wife and child to the public prosecutor's office in Cairo, March 26, 2013. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

CAIRO (Reuters) - Dozens of Egyptians have begun a hunger strike to demand the release of activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, a symbol of the 2011 uprising, and others they say are being unfairly detained in an effort to crush new-found freedoms.

An Egyptian court sentenced 33-year-old Abdel Fattah, a leading figure in the revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak, to 15 years in jail in June for violating a law that seeks to curtail protests.