One of the prisoners on hunger strike in support of Palestine Action has lost the ability to speak and another is unable to stand without passing out, campaigners have said as the protest entered its 56th day.
The eight activists initially went on hunger strike while awaiting trial for alleged break-ins or criminal damage, with four still maintaining their protest.
Heba Muraisi, who is being held in HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire, has said she feels “weaker as each day passes” in a statement released by the Prisoners for Palestine group. She also complained of “bruising on her arm” and a “constant body ache”.
“’I can no longer lie on my side as it hurts my face,” Ms Muraisi said, adding that she is losing the ability to “form sentences, and struggling to maintain conversation”.
Earlier this month two of the activists, Qesser Zuhrah and Amu Gib, paused their hunger strike at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey after 48 days due to deteriorating health. Both were admitted to hospital for treatment.
Those still refusing food are Teuta Hoxha, Ms Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed and Lewie Chiaramello, according to Prisoners for Palestine.
Four of the group, including Ms Muraisi, are accused of playing roles in the break-in at Israeli-linked defence technology company Elbit Systems UK on 19 November 2024. They will go on trial in May next year at the earliest.
The other four are accused of breaking into RAF Brize Norton in June, where it is alleged that they sprayed red paint into two RAF Voyager planes.
Ms Hoxha, 29, who is being held in HMP Peterborough, has said that she is “no longer able to stand without blacking out” and enduring “dizzy spells” with “increasing levels of brain fog”, Prisoners for Palestine said. She is “virtually bedridden” as a result of the strike, her second this year.
Allegations that Ms Zuhrah was refused an ambulance sparked a protest outside HMP Bronzefield earlier this month attended by Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana. The Ministry of Justice has denied claims of mistreatment.
The remaining hunger strikers issued a new set of demands on Tuesday, including that Ms Muraisi be transferred back to HMP Bronzefield where she was first detained.
This came on top of a previous a series of demands which included an immediate bail and the ability to “send and receive communications without restriction, surveillance, or interference from the prison administration”.
Lawyers representing the strikers have said they are facing potential death. Last Monday, they initiated legal proceedings against the government, claiming they had abandoned their own prison safety policy framework. The strikers say they have sent multiple letters to justice secretary David Lammy without a response.
James Timpson, the minister of state for prisons, probation and reducing reoffending, said: “We are very experienced at dealing with hunger strikes. Unfortunately, over the last five years we have averaged over 200 hunger strike incidents every year and the processes that we have are well-established and they work very well – with prisons working alongside our NHS partners every day, making sure our systems are robust and working – and they are.
“I am very clear. I don’t treat any prisoners differently to others. That is why we will not be meeting any prisoners or their representatives. We have a justice system that is based on the separation of powers, and the independent judiciary is the cornerstone of our system.”
A spokesperson for Prisoners for Palestine said: “Unlike the prison guards, who lock up the prisoners early to go home to their Christmas dinner, the hunger strikers don’t get a Christmas break. Just like the Christians in Gaza, who continue to suffer in the freezing cold at the hands of the settler-colonial entity.
“The hunger strikers say to us, don’t forget the people of Palestine over Christmas, and continue to demand a meeting with the British government on their behalf.”
An HMP Bronzefield spokesperson said: “We cannot provide information about specific individuals, however all prisoners are managed in line with policies and procedures governing the entire UK prison estate. This includes specialist multi-agency processes, led by the government, to assess individual risks and security status.”
