UK Hunger Strike Enters Third Month, Activists in Critical Condition

By Staff, Agencies

A Palestinian activist being held on remand in a UK prison is experiencing serious health deterioration, including muscle spasms and breathing difficulties, after more than 60 days on hunger strike.

Prisoners for Palestine [P4P] said that Heba Muraisi - on remand for more than a year over Palestine-related activism - has now reached 64 days without food, making her the longest-serving hunger striker amongst the group.

Muraisi began her strike on 3 November 2025 after she was transferred without notice from HMP Bronzefield to HMP New Hall, hundreds of miles away from her family and support network.

Muraisi told P4P that she has been “experiencing muscle spasms and twitches in her arm” and at times feels “like she is holding her breath and doesn’t know why, like she has to remind herself to breathe”.

P4P says these symptoms could indicate emerging neurological damage.

Muraisi said she will continue her hunger strike unless returned to HMP Bronzefield and granted immediate bail, as her mother, Dunya, voiced support, saying, “We are here behind you, supporting you and loving you without limits… the sun of freedom will surely rise.”

Muraisi is one of eight Palestine Action-linked activists on hunger strike to protest their remand detention and the group’s proscription, though four have paused the strike, saying they will resume in the new year.

Hunger striker Kamran Ahmed, now 58 days in, has been hospitalized five times, kept double-cuffed with swollen wrists, and suffers intermittent hearing loss, which experts warn could cause irreversible damage; P4P says it has repeatedly raised concerns over the restraints and the lack of medical support for all strikers.

The British government has refused to meet the hunger strikers despite escalating health risks, with P4P warning organ failure and sudden death are “increasingly more likely.” “As the hunger strike enters its third month… grave danger looms over them,” said spokesperson Francesca Nadin, noting the activists see it as “the only way to get justice.”

Meanwhile, Teuta Hoxha paused her hunger strike after receiving delayed letters and the Joint Extremism Unit [JEXU] meeting, but remains denied hospital care despite serious health risks, with P4P saying this reflects broader mistreatment of Palestine solidarity detainees.

The Ministry of Justice and the prison service have been approached for comment.

Last month, seven UN human rights experts warned the UK that eight pro-Palestine hunger strikers risk organ failure and death, describing their protest as a “measure of last resort” after feeling their right to protest had been exhausted.

The lawyers are now launching legal action against the UK government for refusing to meet with them.

The eight detainees are being held on remand in five prisons over their alleged involvement in break-ins at factories owned by "Israeli" arms company "Elbit" Systems and a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire. However, they deny the charges.