UK's largest pro-Palestine prison hunger strike in decades sends activists to hospital

A pro-Palestine activist in the United Kingdom has been taken to hospital for a second time amid severe health complications on the 29th day of his hunger strike, as concerns mount over the condition of eight incarcerated activists refusing food to demand bail and basic rights.

Kamran Ahmed, who has asthma, was again rushed to hospital after he became unable to stand following nearly a month of refusing food. He has been held on remand at HMP Pentonville in England for over a year after his arrest on 19 November last year in connection with a Palestine Action protest at an Elbit Systems arms facility in Filton, Bristol, which caused more than £1 million in damage.

Ahmed is among eight pro-Palestinian activists on hunger strike, with demands that include immediate bail, the right to a fair trial, and the deproscription of Palestine Action, which was designated a terrorist organisation in July.

Five of the eight protesters have now been hospitalised, marking the largest coordinated hunger strike in British prisons since Bobby Sands' protest in 1981.

"This hunger strike is not about death," Audrey Corno from Prisoners4Palestine, an organisation representing all those detained under charges related to Palestinian liberation, tells The New Arab.

"The reason they're on hunger strike is because they have tried every other way of meeting the demands of this campaign but have been met with silence and incompetence from the government and the courts."

"Where they've tried other ways of having their voices heard, whether that's through prison complaints, which have been consistently ignored, whether that's through trying to challenge the prison and the courts through the lawyers," Corno adds.

Corno explains the conditions of the hunger strikers, the longest being Qesser Zuhrah and Amu Gib, who have refused to eat for 37 days, is "quite dire", with over 100 medical professionals signing a letter urging attention to the hunger strikers to the Health and Justice Commissioning Team, NHS England.

"The hunger strike is never safe, but past day 35 the thiamine levels drop significantly," Corno says. "This puts them at very high risk of brain damage, osteoporosis and long-term health consequences."

Corno described widespread symptoms among the strikers, including weakness, dizziness, shallow breathing, chest tightness and exhaustion, with some unable to stand.

Members of the Filton 24 and the Brize Norton 5, several of whom have spent more than a year in custody without trial, declared an open-ended hunger strike on 20 October, saying they have been left with no option but to refuse food to fight for fair treatment.

Their demands include a fair trial, including full disclosure of documents related to their cases, such as communications between British and Israeli state officials, UK police, the attorney general and Elbit Systems regarding the policing of pro-Palestine activism.

They are also demanding release from custody while awaiting trial, having already spent more than six months in pre-trial detention.

Amid rising alarm, 36 MPs have signed an early day motion calling on the Justice Secretary, David Lammy, to urgently intervene to protect the hunger strikers' human rights.

One of the signatories, Zarah Sultana, co-founder of Your Party, called for immediate bail for all defendants held on extended remand for alleged actions intended to prevent genocide.

"I am extremely concerned about the well-being of the young Palestine Action activists who’ve reached day 38 of a life-threatening hunger strike," Sultana tells The New Arab, after visiting Qesser Zuhrah at HMP Bronzefield on Monday.

"Lives are now at immediate risk. [Lammy] cannot pretend to be ignorant of what is happening, and he will be fully culpable for the consequences of continued inaction," she said, adding she was "disturbed" to hear that protesters were being denied contact with next of kin and legal representatives in hospital.

"These prisoners were arrested for allegedly taking direct action to stop Israel’s genocide," MP Richard Burgon told The New Arab. “They have never been convicted, yet they’ve been held on remand for many months and in conditions far harsher than other prisoners face. Their health is deteriorating quickly, so this is desperately urgent."

Burgon, who also voted against proscribing Palestine Action, warned of "unacceptable" reports of negligence, harassment and degrading treatment inside the prison system.

"They should not be punished before even facing a court, let alone before being convicted of any crime. At the very least, they should be granted immediate bail while awaiting trial," he added.