Thu Dec 18 20:59:28 UTC 2025: News Article:
British Healthcare Professionals Sound Alarm as Palestine Action Hunger Strikers Face Death Risk
London, UK – Hundreds of British healthcare professionals are urgently calling for intervention as six remand prisoners affiliated with the banned protest group Palestine Action are reportedly in critical condition due to hunger strikes. Two of the prisoners have been refusing food for almost seven weeks.
More than 800 doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers have signed a letter to Justice Secretary David Lammy, warning of the “real and increasingly likely potential that young British citizens will die in prison, having never even been convicted of an offence.”
The prisoners, identified as Qesser Zuhrah, Amu Gib, Heba Muraisi, Teuta Hoxha, Kamran Ahmed, and Lewie Chiaramello (on a partial strike), are being held in various prisons on charges including burglary and violent disorder related to break-ins at Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense firm subsidiary, and an RAF base. They deny the charges. Palestine Action was banned in July as a terror group, a label that applies to groups such as ISIL (ISIS).
An emergency physician, Dr. James Smith, stated the hunger strikers were “dying” and are now at a “critical stage” due to prolonged starvation. He explained that after three weeks without food, the body begins to break down vital organ tissue, leading to potential heart failure, kidney problems, and muscle weakness.
The healthcare professionals are demanding twice-daily assessments, daily blood tests, and 24-hour medical cover for the prisoners, arguing they should be moved to a hospital setting if adequate care cannot be provided in prison.
Pressure is mounting on Justice Secretary Lammy to address the situation. He has so far refused to meet with the prisoners’ lawyers. Some of the prisoners have been hospitalized due to the severity of their condition, but have allegedly discharged themselves to communicate with their families.
The prisoners are demanding immediate bail, a fair trial, the de-proscription of Palestine Action, and the closure of all Elbit Systems sites.
Several MPs and over 20,000 petition signers are urging Lammy to meet with the hunger strikers’ lawyers. The former Guantanamo detainee Mansroor Adayfi, joined the hunger strike in solidarity on Wednesday.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson stated that prison staff are managing the cases in accordance with policy and with appropriate medical assessment and support. A spokesperson of Sodexo said, prisoners refusing food receive “regular medical assessment and support from clinicians, as well as being offered mental health support”.
First Piper 