Three prisoners associated with Palestine Action are in a critical phase of a hunger strike that has entered its third month, with supporters reporting alarming health deterioration. Heba Muraisi, 31, on day 65 of refusing food, is said to be suffering from muscle spasms and breathing problems, while Kamran Ahmed, 28, on day 58, has reported intermittent hearing loss. A third participant, Lewie Chiaramello, 22, who has type 1 diabetes, has been fasting every other day for 44 days.
Dr James Smith, an emergency physician and lecturer at University College London, said the three were already “well into the critical phase”, which he described as beyond three weeks, and warned that “things can decline very quickly and irreversibly”. He dismissed suggestions that the strikers' survival was suspicious, saying their bodies were “breaking down as we speak”, but added that medical advances in supplementation had so far prevented a catastrophic event.
Ahmed, held at Pentonville prison and hospitalised for a fifth time last week, said through an intermediary: “I’m worried but being scared does not mean for one second I am not willing as the government ministers play ping pong with our health.” He said he intended to continue, adding that watching “random cooking shows”, his Islamic faith and “hearing the protests echo through the Pentonville grounds” had kept him going.
The rolling hunger strike began on 2 November with demands including immediate bail, ending the ban on Palestine Action, closing UK sites of Israeli arms company Elbit Systems and ending censorship of prisoners' communications. Five previous participants have paused their action, most recently Teuta Hoxha, who stopped after 60 days on Saturday. All three remaining strikers have spent more than 18 months in pre-trial custody, exceeding the standard six-month limit.
The protest is believed to be the largest coordinated hunger strike in the UK since the 1981 IRA campaign, in which 10 people died. The earliest death came after 46 days. Prisoners minister James Timpson said ministers would not meet the strikers, arguing that doing so would be unconstitutional and that remand decisions are for independent judges. The Ministry of Justice added that agreeing to meetings would create “perverse incentives” for others to put themselves at risk.
