British Pro-Palestinian Hunger Strikers Hospitalized as Health Crisis Deepens

By Staff, Agencies

Two young British prisoners affiliated with the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action have been taken to hospital after weeks of refusing food, prompting urgent warnings from family members and rights advocates that their lives may be in immediate danger.

Amu Gib, 30, held at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey while awaiting trial, was hospitalized after reaching day 50 of a hunger strike launched in protest of his detention. His condition deteriorated to the point that prison authorities provided him with a wheelchair before transferring him to hospital.

Kamran Ahmed, 28, detained at Pentonville prison in London, was also admitted to hospital on Saturday, according to his sister, Shahmina Alam. Ahmed is on day 42 of his hunger strike, and his family says his health has sharply declined in recent days. Alam warned that he has been losing weight rapidly and now faces a serious risk of organ damage. His last recorded weight was 60 kilograms.

The two men are among at least eight prisoners who have been hospitalized since the hunger strike began on November 2, known as Balfour Day, according to the prisoner-led collective Prisoners for Palestine. The group has warned that without urgent government intervention, hunger strikers could die while in state custody.

“They are in the custody of the state,” the collective said, accusing the government of negligence and politicizing their detention.

Gib is reportedly being held on remand over alleged involvement in a protest action at the Royal Air Force’s Brize Norton base in June, during which military aircraft were sprayed with paint. He is one of three Palestine Action-affiliated detainees at HMP Bronzefield, alongside Amy Gardiner-Gibson and Qesser Zuhrah, who has also been hospitalized. Both Gib and Ahmed deny the charges against them, including burglary and violent disorder.

Supporters argue the prosecutions are politically motivated and intended to silence opposition to the UK government’s backing of the “Israeli” entity. A group of British lawmakers, including former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, has formally raised concerns with the prisons inspectorate over what they describe as inconsistent and inadequate treatment of hunger-striking prisoners. Corbyn, who represents Gib’s constituency and has visited him in custody, co-signed a letter urging immediate action and greater transparency.

Lawyers representing the detainees have also criticized Justice Secretary David Lammy for refusing to meet with them, despite repeated warnings about the prisoners’ worsening health. In a letter backed by more than 50 MPs, legal teams said their concerns had either been ignored or met with vague assurances that official guidelines were being followed.

The hunger strikers are demanding immediate bail, fair trial guarantees, and the removal of Palestine Action from the UK’s list of proscribed organizations. They are also protesting prison restrictions on mail, phone calls, and reading materials, which they describe as censorship.

In addition, the activists are calling for the closure of all UK subsidiaries of “Israeli” arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, accusing the company of supplying weapons used in “Israel’s” war on Gaza. In July, the UK government banned Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act, a move that sparked widespread protests and led to hundreds of arrests across the country.

As the hunger strike enters its most critical phase, families, lawyers, and supporters warn that the continued refusal to address detainees’ demands could have fatal consequences.