cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/18309
Palestine solidarity activists on hunger strike in British prisons have long passed a critical point in their protest, with at least two now facing a risk of imminent death. Heba Muraisi and Kamran Ahmed, who have been on hunger strike since November, have both reported worsening symptoms that health professionals warn could signal permanent damage. Their deteriorating condition has led to yet another wave of appeals for the UK government, led by Keir Starmer, to finally address the strikers’ demands.
“As the hunger strike enters its third month, those still on hunger strike continue to deteriorate, and grave danger looms over them,” the group Prisoners for Palestine warned. “Despite this, they continue firm in their actions and beliefs, that continuing to strike is the only way to get justice in the face of the government’s contempt for life.”
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Most recently, Muraisi has reported uncontrollable muscle spasms and increasing difficulty breathing, while Ahmed has experienced intermittent hearing loss and severe physical decline. He was hospitalized for the sixth time this week, with health workers reporting growing difficulty in providing care. “Healthcare staff found it extremely difficult to cannulate him due to the effect the hunger strike has had on his body, causing his veins to shrink and become very hard to find,” Prisoners for Palestine said in an earlier statement.
Muraisi and Ahmed are among the eight activists involved in what has been described as the largest hunger strike in Britain since the 1981 Irish political prisoners’ strike. A third activist, Lewie Chiaramello, remains on intermittent hunger strike and faces serious risks due to underlying medical conditions, namely diabetes. At the same time, activists who have paused or ended their strikes in recent days are struggling to recover their health. Teuta Hoxha, who paused her strike earlier this week, reported that prison authorities failed to ensure support for adequate supervised refeeding, potentially exposing her to the serious risks posed by refeeding syndrome.
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The strikers are demanding guarantees of their right to bail and to communicate with family and support networks, as well as the deproscription of the direct action group Palestine Action and an end to British complicity in the genocide in Gaza, including a halt to all operations by Elbit Systems in the UK. Despite continuous appeals from families, human rights organizations, and members of Parliament, the British government has so far refused even to engage in dialogue.
“Keir Starmer’s government is not passive; it is actively complicit: enabling genocide abroad, escalating repression at home and giving a green light to Trump’s renewed imperialism,” MP Zarah Sultana wrote on January 6. “This is not neutrality. It is collaboration. Let there be no ambiguity: if Heba or Kamran die, that blood is on the hands of this Labour government.”
In contrast to the government’s stance, solidarity for the hunger strikers continues to grow both locally and internationally. Following appeals by Irish organizations and political parties drawing parallels with the experience of Irish prisoners in the 1980s, South African networks and individuals called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to urge British authorities to take action.
“Under apartheid, some detained unjustly by the regime used hunger strikes as the only form of resistance available to them, calling for justice for themselves and for all who were oppressed,” their letter, dated December 29, 2025, reads. “As a nation, we must therefore stand in solidarity with these six young people, support their reasonable demands, and urge the British government to end its injustices against them, actions that could ultimately cost them their lives.”
The Labour government’s continued refusal to reconsider its repressive approach to protest rights has been widely criticized, including in a recent report by Human Rights Watch. The warnings highlight a general climate in Britain that is increasingly hostile to popular dissent and is having a chilling effect on fundamental civil liberties.
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