FREE THE HUNGER STRIKERS!
PALESTINE Action protesters on hunger strike in UK prison are losing the ability to speak and stand and are on the verge of dying. Since the hunger strike began on Nov 2, seven striking prisoners have been hospitalized, with 4 halting the protest. None of them have been convicted of anything. Yet, they have all incarcerated for over a year, in violation of the standard pre-trial custody limit of six months.
Letting prisoners die of hunger is not a new tactic for the UK. They let Bobby Sands and other Irish prisoners of war starve to death in 1980-81. The difference between then and now is that then the government at least was open to dialog with the hunger strikers. Justice Minister David Lammy has refused all requests by the activists' lawyers and family to even meet them.
Death usually occurs between 60 to 70 days without food. Heba Muraisi had gone 53 days without food, as of Christmas day. Her comrades have gone 32-47 days, each.
UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who Trump has sanctioned, denounced Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s treatment of the protesters: “Preventable deaths in custody are never acceptable. The state bears full responsibility for the lives and wellbeing of those it detains... Urgent action is required now.”
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25725353.uk-hunger-strikers-losing-ability-speak-stand/
#palestine #gaza #genocide #freepalestine #freespeech #prison #hungerstrike #PalestineAction #protest