Activists from Palestine Action, the direct action network proscribed in the UK, could die in prison because their hunger strike has now stretched to nearly six weeks, their lawyers have warned.
Imran Khan and Partners Solicitors wrote to the UK Justice Secretary David Lammy requesting a meeting before their clients' health “deteriorates beyond possible recovery”. Five of the eight activists on remand have already been admitted to hospital, with some suffering from shortness of breath and blurred vision, the lawyers said. All are experiencing memory loss.
The lawyers also said they were preparing legal action against the government, which would accuse it of being in breach of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and protects “the right to life”. The activists are awaiting trial after being arrested by counter-terrorism police, but face a two-year wait before their cases are heard due to a backlog in UK courts.
That delay, and other claims of mistreatment by hospital staff, triggered the hunger strike. “We have instructions from our clients to request and attend a meeting with you, to explore a resolution for to the strike,” the lawyers wrote to Mr Lammy. The lawyers said the activists had an “iron-clad” commitment to their cause and were unlikely to stop until “their demands are met”.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said Mr Lammy “has responded to and will continue to respond to correspondence on this issue, and is being kept informed of the situation”.
Four of the activists are being held for their alleged involvement in a demonstration at the RAF base Brize Norton in June this year, during which the base was broken into and two military planes damaged. Palestine Action was subsequently proscribed in July.
Others were arrested for their alleged involvement in a break-in at the Elbit Systems factory in Filton, Bristol in August last year. They were held on remand after the CPS determined their demonstration had a “terrorism connection”.
Qesser Zuhrah and Amy Gardiner-Gibson, who are both being held at HMP Bronzefield, have been striking for 39 days. Ms Zuhrah is struggling to walk and suffers from sharp pain around her neck, shoulders and lower abdomen. Ms Gardiner-Gibson has lost more than 10kg in weight, has to lie down for most of the day and suffers from twitching in her muscles.
Heba Muraisi is on her 38th day of hunger strike and is at HMP Newhall. She has previously been admitted to hospital and believes she will be admitted again soon – she has caught a cold in the past week and her immune system is “heavily weakened”.
Kamran Ahmed has been admitted to hospital twice in November and suffers from ulcers in his mouth and shallow breath after losing 10kg over 31 days of hunger strike at HMP Peterborough, his lawyers said.
Umer Khalid, who suffers from limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, joined the hunger strike last week and is on his seventh day. The strike is causing him pain, and he is “deteriorating much faster than expected”, his lawyers said.
The activists face “heavy restrictions” on receiving mail, calls and visits, the lawyers said. Their mail, which includes letters written to them by schoolchildren, has been withheld for “national security reasons”. Non-association orders between the activists have been given, which the lawyers say have “no legal basis”.
Time spent on remand before trial should be a maximum of six months, but due to pressures on the UK court system, thousands of people have been held for longer. A High Court judgment on whether or not the proscription was legal is expected in the coming weeks, after Palestine Action's co-founder Huda Ammori was granted permission by the court to challenge the ban.
Ms Ammori – who is not on hunger strike herself – has described the activists’ condition as an “emergency”. “Their health is severely deteriorating, with one described as ‘skeletal’. Each face up to two years on remand before trial and face harsher treatment as they are labelled as ‘terrorists’. This is an emergency,” she wrote on social media.
Meanwhile, more than 2,000 people have been arrested under section 12 of the terrorism act for expressing support for the group at demonstrations demanding the revocation of the ban. The trials for these are expected to begin in March next year.
