Detained Al Jazeera journalist, Abdullah Elshamy, who has been on a hunger strike for over 100 days has demanded that he be immediately released by the authorities in Egypt where he has been imprisoned since August 2013.
Elshamy who embarked on his hunger strike several weeks ago has dropped from 108kg to 74kg in weight.
Elshamy was recorded as saying during his court hearing on Saturday that he had not seen a doctor or a lawyer since he was jailed.
The Egyptian court extended Elshamy’s detention by another 45 days.
In the audio recording, Elshamy is heard urging the Egyptian authorities to charge him if they had evidence against him.
Elshamy was also heard saying that claims by Egyptian prosecutors that he wasn’t on hunger strike were false and that he had filed seven statements with the authorities to officially document that he was.
The journalist, who has spent 266 days in prison, said he had been denied legal representation and medical attention since his arrest.
Elshamy is among the 4 detainees being held by the Egyptian authorities, including Peter Greste, Mohammed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, who all work for Al Jazeera English and have been held for months, accused of spreading false news and working with a banned organisation. Their trial has been adjourned until May 15.
Elshamy began his hunger strike by permitting himself only water, milk, juice without sugar and two dates per day before cutting them all out gradually. His wife Gehad Khaled has also joined her husband’s hunger strike and since she began in March has only been drinking water.
Born in Egypt but raised in Nigeria, Elshamy before his detainment, worked as West Africa Correspondent for Al Jazeera- Arabic.