Supporters warn that prisoners are ‘wasting away’ and facing ‘irreversible’ harm.
As UK ministers refuse to meet with the activists.
British doctors warned on 6 January that Palestine Action-linked prisoners refusing food in UK jails were facing life-threatening risks, describing them as “well into the critical phase,” as the hunger strikers vowed to continue despite repeated hospitalizations.
The protest involves activists detained over alleged actions targeting UK sites connected to Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems – a company that has recorded record profits since the start of the Gaza genocide by supplying the Israeli military with weapons, munitions, and surveillance systems – as well as a Royal Air Force base.
All of those involved deny the charges and remain in custody awaiting trial.
The hunger strike began on 2 November and initially involved eight detainees, five of whom have since suspended their participation because of severe medical danger, leaving the three remaining activists still refusing food.
Heba Muraisi, 31, has been on a continuous hunger strike for more than two months. Supporters say she is suffering muscle spasms, breathlessness, severe pain, memory decline, loss of speech, and repeated hospitalizations. A visitor described her as “very pale and thin” and said she speaks openly about “dying” while remaining determined to continue.
Kamran Ahmed, 28, held at Pentonville prison in north London, has refused food for nearly two months. He has experienced chest pain, breathlessness, dizziness, and intermittent hearing loss, and has been hospitalized multiple times.
Ahmed said he intends to continue, adding that “the onus should be on the government,” not on prisoners risking their lives.
Lewie Chiaramello, 22, who has type 1 diabetes, is fasting on alternate days. His partner said he is frequently disoriented and fears he faces a heightened risk of diabetic coma and long-term damage.
Emergency physician James Smith said all three are “well into the critical phase” of starvation and warned that deterioration can become “very quick and irreversible.”
He cited risks including heart failure, infection, and neurological damage. Dr Smith also described some prison medical practices as “undignified.”
The prisoners are demanding bail, a fair trial, an end to the UK ban on Palestine Action, the closure of Elbit sites in the UK, and an end to what they describe as censorship of mail, calls, and reading material in prison.
UK justice officials rejected calls for ministerial intervention. Prison Minister James Timpson said healthcare teams are monitoring the detainees and that ministers “will not meet with them,” arguing that intervention would be unconstitutional.
The Ministry of Justice warned that engagement could create “perverse incentives.”
Supporters argue the prolonged pre-trial detention that has gone well beyond the usual six-month limit reflects the criminalization of protest against Israel and UK military ties, while drawing grim parallels to historic hunger strikes that ended in death.
