Eight British prisoners, all being held on remand for allegedly taking action in
solidarity with Palestine, are on an open-ended hunger strike that began on 2nd
November.
This is the biggest coordinated prison hunger strike in UK history since
the 1981 H-Block strike in the North of Ireland. Five strikers have been hospitalised
thus far. Two have not eaten for 39 days. Their demands pertain both to their own cases (end to censorship of communications, immediate bail, and ensuring the right to a fair trial), to the wider repression of Palestine solidarity protestors in Britain, and to the UK’s participation in genocide in Gaza.
The Labour government is yet to respond to their demands, communicated in writing prior to the start of the strike on 20th October, or to publicly acknowledge the strike.
In total, there have been seven hospitalisations: Kamran Ahmed and Heba Muraisi have been admitted twice. All have lost a significant percentage of their body weight. They are reaching a critical stage, as noted by medical professionals including Dr James Smith, NHS emergency Doctor (as reported in
The Observer, Sunday 7th December). Campaigners are calling on Justice Secretary David Lammy to urgently meet with representatives of the hunger strikers urgently.
Motion Ali, Zarah Sultana, and Jeremy Corbyn have both met with prisoners at Sodexo run Bronzefield Women’s Prison. Nida Jafri, loved one of Amu Gib says: “We are worried sick. David Lammy is a coward. We cannot understand why Lammy is pretending he doesn’t know about this. His own constituents have written asking him to respond and have shown up outside his office – and he has run away from them. The strikers need immediate bail, and the UK needs to address its ongoing complicity in genocide through its partnership with Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer”.
Public concern and cross-party political support for the strikers is growing. An open letter calling on Lammy to respond has gathered over 5,288 signatures.
The Green Party’s leaders and MPs have written publicly to Lammy.
Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn requested a meeting over a month ago.
Both have spoken publicly on this. Labour MP John McDonnell has tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament calling for discussion of the hunger strikers’ demands; it now holds 40 MPs’ signatures, from across Labour, The Green
Party, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and Your Party.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and several other UK Palestine solidarity and human rights groups have expressed support for the strikers. A bail hearing will be held Friday 12th December at the Old Bailey for hunger strikers Amu Gib, Jon Cink and Lewie Chiaramello. All are due to be held in prison for up to 18
months before their trial.