LONDON: Eight Palestine Action activists on hunger strike in the UK face dying in prison if Justice Secretary David Lammy fails to intervene, lawyers representing the group have warned.
Two of the activists on Wednesday reached the 46-day mark of their protest. A third is on 45 days.
It was at 46 days that Martin Hurson, 24, became the sixth of 10 prominent Irish Republican Army hunger strikers to die in 1981.
Lawyers for the activists on Tuesday sent a letter to Lammy, also the UK’s deputy prime minister, The Times reported.
He was warned that without intervention, the deaths of the eight activists is “increasingly more than a mere possibility. It is a likelihood.”
None of the activists have been convicted of a crime, and are serving lengthy periods on remand for two alleged break-ins in protest against Israeli arms companies and military sites with ties to the country.
One of the group, Qesser Zuhrah, 20, has refused food since Nov. 2. She collapsed several nights ago in prison as her legs shook uncontrollably, her lawyers said.
Zuhrah was left on the floor for hours “coming in and out of consciousness” before she was rushed to hospital, they added.
In the days before her collapse, she found it difficult to walk and suffered sharp pain in her neck, shoulders and lower abdominal region, they said.
A protest demanding an ambulance for Zuhrah was held on Tuesday night and attended by Your Party MP Zarah Sultana. The rally outside the prison descended into violence, with police arresting three protesters.
Another Palestine Action protester on hunger strike, Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 30, is suffering cognitive decline and has low red and white blood cell counts, test results quoted by her lawyers show.
One of the eight protesters who has since ended his involvement has muscular dystrophy. Another, a diabetic, is at the 13-day mark of the hunger strike.
The lawyers representing the group, from Imran Khan & Partners, said it is the “biggest coordinated prison hunger strike” in the UK since 1981. That year, 10 prisoners in Northern Ireland died after taking part in an IRA hunger strike.
The legal firm said: “All have lost a significant percentage of their body weight, and, with the hunger strike in its second month, are reaching a critical stage and nearing the point of no return.”
Despite mounting pressure from MPs, Lammy has refused to meet the activists’ lawyers.
A group of 58 MPs have signed an early day motion expressing “extreme concern” over the status of the activists.
Their families are set to hold a press conference on Thursday.
Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker, said last week that Lammy’s refusal to meet MP John McDonnell over the issue was “totally unacceptable.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in Parliament this week that “there are rules and procedures in place in relation to hunger strikes, and we’re following those rules and procedures.”
The Ministry of Justice said: “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.”
The alleged crimes of the eight activists took place before Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organization by the government in July.
The group are demanding immediate bail, a reversal of Palestine Action’s proscription and an end to restrictions on their communications in prison.
Imran Khan & Partners’ letter to Lammy, seen by The Times, said: “You are uniquely placed in that as a senior government minister with oversight of His Majesty’s prison service, you can bring about a resolution of the situation, such that the increasing deterioration of our clients’ health does not lead to their death.
“We are at a loss why you would not want to do this. We make clear that our request for a meeting is in an effort to seek to resolve the immediate situation and prevent the loss of life. Unless you tell us, we cannot see any reason why you would not want to engage in this process.”
