'Another Bobby Sands': South Africa protests UK over Palestine Action hunger strikers

More than 30 pro-Palestine organisations in South Africa staged a solidarity protest on Tuesday outside the British Council in Johannesburg, calling for the immediate release of hunger-striking prisoners held in British jails.

Demonstrators demanded that the detainees be granted bail and that their right to fair, transparent and timely trials be upheld. Organisers warned that several prisoners had gone more than 50 days without food and faced a serious risk of death without urgent intervention.

The rally coincided with the eighth week of a hunger strike launched on 2 November by prisoners linked to Palestine Action, protesting their prolonged detention and the group's proscription.

In a statement, organisers said the continued imprisonment of the activists without trial, reports of inadequate medical care, and the government's refusal to meaningfully engage with their demands meant responsibility for any loss of life would lie with the British state.

The prisoners are accused of breaking into a factory operated by Elbit Systems and a Royal Air Force base in an attempt to disrupt the supply of fighter jet components to Israel. They remain in pre trial detention without bail, with some held for more than a year, well beyond the standard six month custody limit.

Lawyers for the group say two prisoners have now exceeded 50 days without food and are in a critical condition. Three others have ended their hunger strikes, including Qesser Zuhrah, one of the first to begin the protest, who fasted for 49 days.

Campaigners said between four and six prisoners remain on full hunger strike, while others have shifted to partial refusal due to serious underlying health conditions, including diabetes.

At least five detainees have been hospitalised, among them Kamran Ahmed, who has been admitted multiple times, and Amu Gib.

Protest organisers drew parallels with South African anti-apartheid struggle and Palestinian political prisoners, describing hunger strikes as a long standing form of resistance used when all other avenues are closed.

They also referenced the 1981 Irish Republican hunger strikes, warning against a repeat of policies that led to the deaths of Bobby Sands and nine others. The statement noted that the five current hunger strikers are all under the age of 31, with the youngest aged 20, and said their health continued to deteriorate.

Sunny Morgan of the Palestinian Solidarity Alliance said the Johannesburg protest was driven by fears that the activists could die if the strike continued.

"We want to show solidarity because we recognise the importance of their stance, which is to expose UK complicity in the genocide and killing of the Palestinian people and to highlight the role of the arms industry, particularly Elbit Systems, which operates in the UK with impunity," Morgan told The New Arab.

"We recognise hunger strikes are quite a serious intervention from our own history," Morgan added. "We stand in solidarity with Palestine. We want to see an end to the genocide and to the occupation."

The Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) said it did not take part in the protest but expressed support for the hunger strikers.

"These hunger strikers are being held for extended periods without trial, denied adequate healthcare, and subjected to censorship and repression for acts aimed at disrupting Britain's complicity in Israeli military supply chains - this places moral and political responsibility for any loss of life on the UK government," MACUA spokesperson Sabelo Mnguni told The New Arab.

The prisoners are demanding an end to prison censorship, immediate bail for all Palestine Action detainees, fair and timely trials, the removal of the group's proscription and the closure of all Elbit Systems sites operating in the UK.