Two Palestine Action Hunger Strikers at Risk of Imminent Death

Two Palestine Action-linked hunger strikers – Heba Muraisi and Kamran Ahmed – are at risk of imminent death as they reach 65 and 58 days without food respectively, say medical professionals and their friends and family members. 

Muraisi, 31, is experiencing uncontrollable muscle spasms which could indicate neurological damage and has to “remind herself to breathe”, according to campaign group Prisoners For Palestine. Ahmed, 28, is experiencing severe chest pain, breathlessness, difficulty speaking and loss of hearing in his left ear, his older sister says, but remains “mentally resilient” and will “see this through”. 

“Death is a very real possibility for Heba right now,” Muraisi’s close childhood friend Hinda, who chose not to give her last name, told Novara Media. She describes Muraisi as a loving, kind and selfless person who “always puts others above herself”. 

Nine Palestine Action-linked activists on remand resorted to hunger strike last year after home secretary ​​Shabana Mahmood failed to respond to a letter outlining concerns over their treatment. 

Muraisi and Ahmed are two of three Palestine Action prisoners still refusing food. The third is Lewie Chiaramello, 22, who has been intermittently fasting for 44 days because he has diabetes. 

Teuta ‘T’ Hoxha paused her 58-day hunger strike (the second she has undertaken in less than a year) on 5 January. Hoxha was hospitalised multiple times and her health remains significantly at risk from refeeding syndrome unless her recovery is correctly managed. Qesser Zuhrah and Amu Gib paused their strikes after 51 days on 23 December 2025. Jon Cink and Umer Khalid ended their 41-day and 13-day hunger strikes earlier in December. 

The group’s demands include immediate bail, the right to a fair trial, the deproscription of Palestine Action, the shutdown of Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems’ sites on British soil, and an end to alleged prison interference with their letters and other communications. 

The Labour government under prime minister Keir Starmer has consistently refused to engage with or meet representatives of the hunger strikers. 

Muraisi began refusing food on 3 November and has reported symptoms including losing her ability to form sentences, pain when lying on her side and constant body aches. 

Ahmed was hospitalised for the fifth time last week. His sister, pharmacist Shahmina Alam, told Novara Media she lives in perpetual fear of her brother having a heart attack. 

Concern for the survival of the hunger strikers is not unfounded. Refusing food for more than 40 days is considered a critical stage by medical professionals, with potential permanent damage or death from cardiovascular collapse and infection. There is also a strong risk of neurologic complications from vitamin deficiency. 

Dr James Smith, a qualified emergency doctor and lecturer at University College London, told Novara Media that Muraisi is “well into the critical phase of a hunger strike, where irreversible damage to the body is likely, and the risk of death increases with each passing day”. 

Smith added: “The risk of electrolyte imbalances triggering irregular heart rhythms and cardiac arrest is high, as is the susceptibility to infections and sepsis. All organs – the liver, the kidneys, the heart – are under immense strain, and could begin to fail at any time.” 

The prison service cannot force-feed a prisoner who refuses food or fluids.

Alam describes herself and her family as “like zombies”. “Every hour is a panic when we don’t hear from him [Ahmed],” she said. “You’re just in a constant state of anxiety. You feel your heart breaking and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Muraisi and Ahmed are both part of the so-called Filton 24, and have been held on remand without trial for more than 13 months – far beyond the pre-trial custody limit of approximately six months. They are expected to face trial in May this year at the earliest, which would mean they have been imprisoned for 18 months without being convicted of any crime. 

Muraisi was relocated from HMP Bronzefield in Surrey to HMP New Hall in Wakefield last October in a move activists claim was intended to isolate Muraisi and separate her from support networks, including her mum. She is reportedly committed to continuing her hunger strike until she is moved back to Bronzefield. 

Hinda told Novara Media that she and others, including Labour MP for Normanton and Hemsworth Jon Trickett, haven’t been approved to visit Muraisi “despite prison governors saying otherwise”, and that this has significantly impacted Muraisi’s mental health. 

Of the ten Irish republican political prisoners who died in the Maze prison hunger strike in 1981, only three had gone more days without food than Muraisi.

A Prisoners For Palestine spokesperson told Novara Media: “After over two months without food, and complete lack of engagement from the authorities, Heba’s life is in great danger. Why do they refuse to move her back to HMP Bronzefield, close to her disabled mother, who she has not seen in months?”

Ahmed’s sister said she feels a “heavy level of disappointment” in the government precisely because it is a Labour one, and as a former human rights law Starmer “should be ashamed” as a former human rights lawyer.

“It’s insane to be ignoring people who are putting their lives on the line to make sure you’re upholding the rights of all British citizens and international law,” Alam told Novara Media. “There’s a lot of misconceptions out there that they want some form of special treatment or they’re trying to fast-track their trial, which is far from the truth. All they’re asking for is stuff that’s set out in our own democratic constitutions and our justice system.

“I never thought I would have a brother in prison for political reasons. I never thought my brother would be on hunger strike. These were things we read about in history books and thought, ‘Wow, what courage it takes for people to do that’. And then I realised it’s just ordinary people leaning into their humanity and realising that they are not free unless everyone’s free.”

Hinda said the government is putting “the interests of foreign powers above their own citizens” and called it a “dangerous precedent”. 

She told Novara Media: “Heba has been in prison for over a year and is expected to be there for much longer without a sentence for what the law says is criminal damages. Heba is doing this so her demands are met, the law is applied proportionately, and so that she can go home and be a daughter again.”

All nine detainees who have taken part in the hunger strike are being held over their alleged involvement in break-ins at factories owned by Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest arms company, and RAF Brize Norton air base. They all deny the charges. 

UN experts urged the UK government to take “urgent action” last month to safeguard the lives of the detainees on hunger strike. The seven independent experts, including special rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese, said: “The state bears full responsibility for the lives and wellbeing of those it detains.”

Protests have been held outside prisons holding the hunger strikers, with police accused of employing brutal tactics including pepper-spraying protesters. One doctor reported being “strangled” by a police officer who dragged her by her hood until she lost consciousness. 

In December, Starmer told the Commons that “rules and procedures” were being followed after questions about why his government had failed to meet with loved ones of lawyers of the hunger striker. 

Prisons minister Lord James Timpson said a statement: “While very concerning, hunger strikes are not a new issue for our prisons. Over the last five years, we’ve averaged over 200 a year and we have longstanding procedures in place to ensure prisoner safety.

“Prison healthcare teams provide NHS care and continuously monitor the situation. HMPPS [His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service] are clear that claims that hospital care is being refused are entirely misleading – they will always be taken when needed and a number of these prisoners have already been treated in hospital. 

“These prisoners are charged with serious offences including aggravated burglary and criminal damage. Remand decisions are for independent judges, and lawyers can make representations to the court on behalf of their clients.

“Ministers will not meet with them – we have a justice system that is based on the separation of powers, and the independent judiciary is the cornerstone of our system. It would be entirely unconstitutional and inappropriate for ministers to intervene in ongoing legal cases.”