An Al Jazeera journalist being held in Egypt along with Australian Peter Greste is in "critical" health and could slip into a coma after more than 100 days on hunger strike, his brother says.
Abdullah Elshamy was arrested on August 14 when police dispersed supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo, killing hundreds in clashes.
The journalist, who works for the Qatar-based pan-Arab news network, went on hunger strike in January to protest his detention and has yet to face trial.
Abdullah, who has shed 40kg, is suffering from "anaemia, the start of kidney failure, low blood pressure and hypoglycaemia (glucose deficiency in the blood stream)", one of his brothers, Mosaab Elshamy, told AFP on Tuesday.
"He is at a critical stage and needs to be transferred to hospital," Mosaab said, providing a copy of a blood test Elshamy did last week.
"He can go into a coma if he doesn't take perfusions and if his blood sugar remains low... it is the start of the most dangerous period," he added.
Elshamy's lawyer, Shaaban Saeed, told AFP his client was accused of joining a "terrorist group" and spreading false news.
"My client is paying the price for working for a channel that opposes the ruling regime," Saeed said.
The military-installed authorities have been incensed by Al Jazeera's coverage of their crackdown on Morsi's supporters since July when the army ousted him.
On May 3, a court remanded Elshamy into custody for another 45-day period.
Greste is among three other Al Jazeera English journalists being are held in Egypt and on trial for defamation and supporting Morsi's blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.
