Supporters of three prisoners affiliated with the activist group Palestine Action have raised alarm over a sharp deterioration in their health as part of an ongoing hunger strike. Heba Muraisi, 31, who has refused food for 65 days, is said to be experiencing muscle spasms and breathing difficulties, while Kamran Ahmed, 28, on day 58, has reported intermittent hearing loss and has been hospitalised for a fifth time. 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, described the three as being “well into the critical phase” – a period beyond three weeks – and warned that “things can decline very quickly and irreversibly”. He highlighted heart problems, infections, and neurological concerns as major risks. Supporters believe the hunger strike is the largest coordinated action of its kind in the UK since Irish republican prisoners in 1981, when ten people died.
The rolling hunger strike began on 2 November with demands including immediate bail, the lifting of a ban on Palestine Action, closure of UK facilities belonging to Israeli arms company Elbit Systems, and an end to censorship of the prisoners’ communications. All three individuals have spent more than 18 months in custody awaiting trial for activities claimed by the group, well above the standard six-month pre-trial limit.
Speaking through an intermediary, Ahmed expressed determination to continue, saying he is worried but that fear does not mean he is unwilling to persist. He questioned whether his life matters only because he holds a British passport, and said hearing protests echo through Pentonville grounds had helped keep him going. He stated that the onus should be on the government rather than on him to decide how to proceed.
Responding to the situation, Prisons Minister James Timpson said prison healthcare teams provide NHS care and continuously monitor those involved. He stressed that remand decisions are for independent judges and that ministers will not meet with the hunger strikers, as such intervention would be unconstitutional. The Ministry of Justice has argued that agreeing to meet the prisoners would create “perverse incentives” for others to endanger themselves.
