Hunger-Striking Palestine Action Prisoner Claims to Have Been ‘Punished Retrospectively’ Following Proscription

A hunger-striking Palestine Action (PA) prisoner has told Novara Media her treatment has worsened since proscription, saying she is “being punished retrospectively”.

29-year-old Teuta “T” Hoxha is one of the so-called Filton 18, a group of now 24 PA activists currently held on remand in connection with an action at an Elbit Systems factory in Filton, Gloucestershire, in August last year. PA activists have faced invasive and humiliating treatment in prison even before the controversial proscription – with visibly Muslim female activist Fatema Zainab subjected to mockery by prison officers and invasive repeated drug and pregnancy tests, according to Cage International. 

Since PA was proscribed in July, Hoxha – who has been imprisoned without trial  since November 2024 – told Novara Media her treatment by prison staff has worsened. She says she’s been “called a terrorist” and “told that I’m part of a terrorist group” by prison staff.

Hoxha was moved to HMP Peterborough, a mixed prison, from the women’s prison HMP Bronzefield on the day MPs voted to prescribe PA. Despite technically being a lower security category than her former prison, Hoxha says the conditions at Peterborough have been much harsher. This, she says, has included being removed from her job as an assistant at the prison library, and having her mail withheld. These are the reasons for her hunger strike, which has been ongoing for more than three weeks.

Hoxha says that in mid-August, a representative from counter-terror informed her that she was being monitored under the Joint Extremism Unit (JEXU) – a taskforce within the prison and probation service in England and Wales. She said: “After this me and my friend thought of T-shirt slogans: ‘Five things more extreme than me: Sunday roasts on a Wednesday, pineapple on pizza.’ I was too tired and hungry to think of more.”

Hoxha adds that while she was told that the reason she was removed from her library job was that she could potentially have one-to-one access to other prisoners at Peterborough – something she was previously able to do at Bronzefield. She said prison officers told her that the call to remove her from her library job came from JEUX after the proscription of PA. 

“When was I supposed to have developed these extremist views?” asks Hoxha. “On the prison van to Peterborough from Bronzefield?” 

Hoxha has not been charged with any terrorism offences and denies charges of criminal damage, violent disorder and aggravated burglary. When the Crown Prosecution Service charged her, it said it would be submitting that the offences had a “terrorist connection”. Her trial isn’t expected to come up until April 2026.

Hoxha wasn’t arrested or charged with being a member of a proscribed terror group – PA wasn’t proscribed at the time of her arrest. “So why am I being punished retrospectively?” she said. 

Hoxha’s hunger strike started on 11 August, but she says the prison system didn’t log it as starting until 15 August, meaning that her first healthcare check happened on 19 August – after eight days without eating. 

Hoxha says she was only seen by an advanced nurse practitioner on 27 August, after 16 days of refusing food. The Observer reported that she received electrolytes for the first time on 29 August, after 18 days without food. 

Hoxha told Novara Media that when she had her most recent health check on 2 September, her blood sugar was 3.8mmol/l – under the safe target range – and her ketones 5.2mmol/l – a dangerous level. 

Speaking to Novara Media, Hoxha says she feels incredibly fatigued and has a rash on her legs. She is spending “15 to 18 hours sleeping”, even sitting up to speak to people makes her feel “nauseous” and her “mind becomes foggy and blank”. 

Hoxha’s treatment could be a violation of the prison safety policy framework, which states that prison staff “must make every effort to try and find out why the prisoner is refusing food and/or fluids and address the reasons for their refusal.” Hoxha’s demands, which she says are “minuscule”, are to have her library job restored and her mail delivered. 

She says the pathfinder risk assessment group (operating under JEXU) has “agreed I pose no risk in a library job” but refused to give her this confirmation in writing. To date, her library job has not been reinstated. 

Hoxha claims that on 25 August, the prison asked her to sign a waiver that would mean she bears responsibility for her own health and wouldn’t be able to sue the prison if she were to sustain long-term health damage or die. She has repeatedly refused to sign. 

HMP Peterborough is run by Sodexo Group – a private company that specialises in food services and facilities management.

A HMP Peterborough spokesperson said: “We cannot provide information about specific individuals however, we can confirm that all prisoners have full access to meals. Any prisoner refusing food receives regular medical assessment, electrolytes and support from clinicians, as well as being offered mental health support. Furthermore, if hospital care is ever clinically required, it is provided straightaway. This is in line with policies and regulations applied across the whole prison estate. We can also confirm that we offer a wide range of education and employment opportunities within the prison. While not every opportunity is suitable for all prisoners, there are options for everyone.”

In September, 75 current and former medical professionals signed a letter to NHS England and the prison authorities, warning that Hoxha’s life could be at risk if she does not receive appropriate medical care. 

Hoxha told Novara Media that choosing to refuse food is about autonomy. “Your body is the one way you can fight against the system because in every other way, they’ve taken everything from you,” she said. 

“A nurse asked me why I was going on hunger strike, [doing] myself long-term damage for something so insignificant. Insignificant to you maybe, but when the state has taken your house, your job, nearly two years of your life on remand – then the natural disposition is to want to hold onto every little bit of autonomy.

“Pushing for my library job isn’t just about being in a space which to me feels like a warm drink in cold hands, but it’s about rejecting the attacks on my character.”

Hoxha’s younger sister Rahma, 17, said despite Teuta being in prison, “she still looks after me and takes care of me”. Rahma credits Teuta for helping her achieve her highest GCSE grade in English this summer. 

“They [prison officers] have called her a terrorist and have said that it’s because of the ideas she holds,” Rahma said. “I know my sister and I know that she’s a caring person – she’s an auntie to everyone she meets.

“In Bronzefield, she took care of the other prisoners even if they weren’t her friends – she always made sure everyone ate, had a TV programme to watch… She helps her inmates with letters to the judge and other complicated paperwork.

“Even in the hardest situations, she’s always taken care of others – and now I think it’s our turn to take care of her,” Rahma added.

The state of healthcare in HMP Peterborough has previously been the subject of media scrutiny. Chris Bennett, jailed in HMP Peterborough for taking action with Just Stop Oil, was taken to hospital and diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis 10 days after first trying to sound the alarm to prison staff about his health. 

A spokesperson for NHS England – which oversees prisoner healthcare –  said: “Prison healthcare providers are required to deliver care in line with relevant national specifications, including stepping up clinical monitoring of patients who refuse fluid and food to ensure safe and appropriate treatment.”

“I need rehabilitation from prison,” Hoxha said. “It’s not just cruel to prisoners, it’s cruel to the public to believe this experience offers any rehabilitation.”

Activists detained for their alleged part in the Filton action – which disrupted an Israeli weapons factory – were reporting poor treatment even before the proscription of Palestine Action. In March, primary school teacher Ellie Kamio said she was experiencing panic attacks “nearly every day” in HMP Eastwood Park, and had fainted from heat stroke due to the temperature in her cell on multiple occasions. 

Family members of the Filton 18 also faced arrest: Ellie’s mum Emma was arrested in the days after the Filton action and kept in solitary confinement for five days before being released without charge. Emma Kamio said she was “left traumatised” and her only crime was “raising a young woman with a great moral compass”. 

Another Filton 18 actionist, Will Plastow described the conditions in HMP Wandsworth back in May, including being kept on 24-hour lock-up for eight days out of 35 – including every Friday. He said he could only access the laundry service on two days and a hot shower six days out of 35, and had zero library access.