Palestine Action activists 'likely to die in prison' during hunger strike

 Palestine Action activists who are staging a hunger strike in prison are likely to die without intervention, their lawyers have claimed.

In a letter sent by Imran Khan & Partners, seen by The Telegraph, the lawyers requested an immediate meeting with David Lammy, the Justice Secretary, over the “increasingly likely” scenario that one of their clients dies in prison.

The lawyers said five of the eight Palestine Action activists on hunger strike had been taken to hospital, with one defendant losing 10kg after 37 days without food.

In the letter, the lawyers wrote: “We note with genuine and significant concern the immediate and real risk that their deeply held conviction, in tandem with their deteriorating health, poses to their lives.

“We are concerned that, should this situation be allowed to continue without resolution, there is the real and increasingly likely potential that young British citizens will die in prison, having never even been convicted of an offence.”

Four of those on hunger strike were allegedly involved in the raid on a UK branch of Israel’s Elbit Systems Horizon facility near Bristol in August last year.

A court was told that the raid left a female security guard with a fractured spine. They will go on trial next May at the earliest.

The other four are accused of taking part in breaking into the Brize Norton RAF base in Oxfordshire in June before allegedly causing around £7m in damage by spraying two military planes in paint.

The protest began from complaints of alleged mistreatment in prison and a series of demands including that a defence firm with links to Israel be shut down and the ban on Palestine Action be lifted.

Three High Court judges are expected to rule on the lawfulness of the ban within weeks after the courts granted permission for Huda Ammori, the group’s founder, to challenge the decision to proscribe the group under anti-terror laws.

The lawyers claimed their clients had faced heavy restrictions on mail, calls and visits, citing UN special rapporteurs’ claims that the treatment by counter-terrorism police could amount to enforced disappearance.

Amy “Amu” Gardiner-Gibson, and Jon Cink, who are said to be 37 and 33 days into their hunger strikes respectively, have been remanded in HMP Bronzefield, in Surrey, over alleged involvement in the break-in at Brize Norton.

Lawyers claim Ms Gardiner-Gibson has lost more than 10kg in weight and suffers from deep exhaustion and muscle twitches, and has been offered a wheelchair.

Mr Cink is said to have barely slept and lost 10kg, experiencing deteriorating vision and with plummeting ketone levels in his blood deemed “life-threatening”.

Also accused of taking part in the RAF base raid are Lewie Chiaramello and Umer Khalid, who are on day 15 and day five respectively at HMP Bristol and HMP Wormwood Scrubs, London.

Qesser Zuhrah, also on Day 37 of his strike in HMP Bronzefield, is said to have lost “considerable weight” and now finds it difficult to walk, while her pulse never falls below 100bpm.

Heba Muraisi is reportedly struggling after catching a cold on day 34 of her 36-day strike at HMP Newhall.

Teuta Hoxha and Kamran Ahmed, at HMP Peterborough and on day 30 and 29 of their strikes, were both taken to hospital last month after experiencing headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath and low blood pressure.

‘Signs of memory loss’

The lawyers also said that taking instructions from clients on the state of their health was becoming increasingly difficult because “all are showing signs of memory loss”.

In a previous letter to NHS England, signed by 147 medical professionals, the hunger strikes were described as an “imminent risk to their health and life” and a “medical emergency”.

Ms Ammori has also described the activists’ condition as an “emergency”.

She wrote on social media: “Their health is severely deteriorating, with one described as ‘skeletal’. Each face up to two years on remand before trial and face harsher treatment as they are labelled as ‘terrorists’. This is an emergency.”

Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, echoed the sentiment, saying: “This is an emergency. They must be granted bail, now.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “The Deputy Prime Minister has responded to and will continue to respond to correspondence on this issue, and is being kept informed of the situation.”

“We continually assess prisoners’ wellbeing and will always take the appropriate action, including taking prisoners to hospital if they are assessed as needing treatment by a medical professional.”