UN experts raise ‘grave concern’ over treatment of Palestine Action-linked hunger strikers | UK news
UN experts have expressed “serious concerns” about the welfare of hunger strikers affiliated with Palestine Action and warned that their treatment raises questions about the UK’s compliance with international human rights laws.
Eight prisoners awaiting trial for alleged crimes related to Palestine Action were on hunger strike before the group was banned under terrorism legislation. Qesser Zuhrah, 20, and Amu Gib, 30, held at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, were on hunger strike from 2 November to 23 December. Heba Muraisi, 31, who was based at HMP New Hall, joined the pair on 3 November. The group also includes 29-year-old Teuta Hoxha, 28-year-old Kamran Ahmed and 22-year-old Lewie Chiaramello, who refuses to eat every other day because he is diabetic.
Due to their worsening health, Zuhrah and Gib temporarily resumed dining on Tuesday evening, but vowed to continue protesting next year, according to a statement released by the group Prisoners for Palestine.
On Friday, a group of UN experts, including Gina Romero, the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, issued a statement expressing alarm at the treatment of the group.
Experts said, “A hunger strike is a measure usually taken as a last resort for people who believe that their right to protest and effective solutions have been exhausted. The state’s duty of care towards hunger strikers is not reduced, but increased.”
On Sunday, three of the prisoners (Zuhrah, Gib and Ahmed) were in the hospital at the same time. Ahmed has been hospitalized three times since he started his hunger strike. Experts added: “Authorities should ensure timely access to emergency and hospital care when clinically indicated, avoid actions that could amount to coercion or retaliation, and respect medical ethics.”
Last week, Prisoners of Palestine, a prisoner-led collective in Britain, said it had been notified that the Prison Service had refused ambulance entry to Bronzefield on Tuesday afternoon, despite Zuhrah being unable to stand and writhing in pain on the cell floor. He was taken to hospital after protesters gathered outside the prison where he was being held to demand urgent medical attention.
“These reports raise serious questions about compliance with international human rights law and standards, including obligations to protect life and prevent cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” the experts said. “Preventable deaths in custody are never acceptable. The state is fully responsible for the lives and well-being of those it detains,” he added. “Urgent action needs to be taken now”
On Monday, families and supporters of the hunger strikers, as the group’s lawyers, asked the justice minister, David Lammy, to meet with them and sent a legal letter claiming that the justice minister had failed to comply with the Ministry of Justice’s policy on handling hunger strikes by refusing the meeting.
There is apparently concern within the government about the situation of prisoners, but given the number of prisoners having to spend long periods of detention due to court backlogs, there is apparently extreme caution in setting a precedent even to facilitate a meeting with Lammy.
