World Bulletin/News Desk

The father of Egyptian-American activist Mohamed Sultan, who is said to have been on a hunger strike for 300 days to protest his ongoing detention, has urged the latter to drink water and limit his strike to food only to preserve his life.

The appeal came in a message from Mohamed's father Salah Sultan, a preacher and leading Muslim Brotherhood member, which was released by Islamist preacher Fadel Sultan on his Facebook page.

"Preserve your strength even by only limiting your hunger strike to food, not water," the message reads.

Both Mohamed and his father are currently standing trial on violence-related charges.

Mohamed is accused, along with 51 co-defendants, including his father and top Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, of forming what came to be known as the "Rabaa Operations Room" during a sit-in last year in support of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

On Sunday, the court overseeing the case postponed the trial to December 1.

Last month, the court turned down an appeal by the U.S. Consulate in Cairo for Mohamed's release, citing a sharp deterioration in his health conditions due to his ongoing hunger-strike. It was the third time that the court refused to release the activist in less than a month.

The authorities accuse Mohamed and his co-defendants of leading an alleged plot by the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hails, with the aim of challenging state authorities.

On October 15, an emaciated Mohamed arrived to court in an ambulance from which he was carried into the courtroom on a hospital stretcher.

His father, who was attending the same session, asked judges to release him, saying they would be held responsible for any further deterioration of his son's health.