Three hunger strikers end their protest after nearly 50 days

A third hunger striker among a group who allegedly took part in Palestine Action raids on defence facilities has ended her action after 48 days.

Qesser Zuhrah,  20, was hospitalised as she took part in the protest originally involving eight people while she awaits trial in HMP Bronzefield.

A legal letter sent to the government confirmed that she has ended her action, which had seen her transferred from the prison in Surrey to hospital after supporters including Zarah Sultana MP took up her case.

Two others had previously ended their actions as they await trial.

The letter with a 24-hour deadline has been sent by lawyers acting for the hunger strikers, contesting David Lammy’s refusal to meet them.

The pre-action notice has been sent ‘as a matter of urgency’ as the group’s health deteriorates and ‘the risk of their dying increases every day.’

Imran Khan & Partners Solicitors is representing all eight hunger strikers being held on remand in the legal move initiated yesterday.

‘Risk of dying increases every day’

They want the justice secretary and/or an appointed government or Prison Service official to meet the group and ‘attempt to resolve the situation’.

The longest hunger strike is being undertaken by Amy ‘Amu’ Gardiner-Gibson, who has now gone without food for 51 days.

All the claimants are on remand, charged with offences relating to break-ins or criminal damage linked to Palestine Action.

Zuhrah was arrested in a dawn raid on November 19, 2024, by counter-terrorism officers in the third wave of arrests in connection with the August 2024 raid on the Elbit Systems plant in Filton, Bristol.

She was subsequently charged with non-terror offences.

Heba Muraisi, Teuta Hoxha and Kamran Ahmed are also taking part in the hunger strike. Jon Cink and Umer Kalid have since ended their participation after 41 and 13 days respectively.

All are denied bail after their alleged involvement in the Palestine Action raids on the arms factory owned by Elbit, Israel’s largest manufacturer for weapons, and RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

The activists have been in prison for more than a year as they wait to be tried, breaking the UK’s six-month pre-trial detention limit.

The letter gives ministers 24 hours to respond, with the deadline being this afternoon at 2pm. The solicitors claim that the claimants have not had adequate medical care and treatment in prison and the life-threatening situation has not been addressed by the government.

The letter reads: ‘Please note that this pre-action letter before claim is sent, as a matter of urgency, as our clients’ health continues to deteriorate, such that the risk of their dying increases every day.

‘They request an urgent meeting with the proposed Defendant to discuss the deterioration of our clients’ health and to discuss attempts to resolve the situation.’

‘Degrading treatment in prison’

In a statement via Prisoners for Palestine group, Zuhrah said: ‘They won’t imprison us all, they know if they fill the prisons with activists, we will overpower them from within. So flood the damn streets in your millions.

‘Shut down these factories in your thousands!

‘They can never arrest the resistance in our smiles.’

The protesters’ demands include ‘end all censorship’ of communication and correspondence in jail, immediate bail, ‘right to a fair’ trial, de-proscribing Palestine Action and shutting Elbit down.

Zuhrah, from Woolwich, south-east London, also said the group wanted to ‘reaffirm our commitment’ to the pro-Palestine struggle from prison.

Shahmina Alam, sister of Kamran Ahmed, who has gone 44 days without food, has told Metro that he has been ‘double handcuffed’ and subjected to degrading treatment while on remand.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘We strongly refute these claims.

‘We want these prisoners to accept support and get better, and we will not create perverse incentives that would encourage more people to put themselves at risk through hunger strikes.’

Government doubles down on refusal

Lord Timpson, minister of state for prisons, probation and reducing reoffending, also doubled down on the government’s position.

Lord Timpson said: ‘While very concerning, hunger strikes are not a new issue for our prisons.

‘Over the last five years, we’ve averaged over 200 a year and we have longstanding procedures in place to ensure prisoner safety.

‘Prison healthcare teams provide NHS care and continuously monitor the situation. HMPPS are clear that claims that hospital care is being refused are entirely misleading – they will always be taken when needed and a number of these prisoners have already been treated in hospital.

‘These prisoners are charged with serious offences including aggravated burglary and criminal damage.

‘Remand decisions are for independent judges, and lawyers can make representations to the court on behalf of their clients.

‘Ministers will not meet with them – we have a justice system that is based on the separation of powers, and the independent judiciary is the cornerstone of our system.

‘It would be entirely unconstitutional and inappropriate for ministers to intervene in ongoing legal cases.’

MORE: Police officer injured at HMP Bronzefield in clashes after hunger striker taken away in ambulance

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