UK Government Detains Palestine Action Activists as Doctors Warn Hunger Strikers Face Imminent Death

Eight people held on remand linked to the activist group Palestine Action have engaged in coordinated hunger strikes while awaiting trial.

“Police in the UK made four arrests at a pro-Palestinian protest outside the Ministry of Justice in Westminster, their first since announcing a crackdown on public calls to “globalise the Intifada” after the Bondi Beach attack”

Al Jazeera

Reports place some strikers in their mid-40s and record durations of up to 47 days without food.

Al Jazeera

Sources say the detainees are challenging charges of break-ins and criminal damage and are demanding immediate bail, an end to the government's ban on Palestine Action, and other concessions.

Families and lawyers say the defendants deny the offences they are accused of.

Coverage across outlets records repeated hospitalisations and long-running refusals to eat as the central fact of the dispute.

Medical warnings and hospital admissions have highlighted immediate physical risks to the strikers.

An emergency physician and campaigners say strikers face an acute risk of death or critical illness.

Al Jazeera

At least one striker has been described as having lost a significant proportion of body weight and needing repeated hospital care.

Experts and relatives cited in coverage report symptoms including chest pain, breathlessness and abdominal pain.

Doctors and MPs have urged urgent medical attention and ongoing monitoring.

Political responses are mixed: hundreds of healthcare workers and 51 MPs and peers have petitioned ministers and Justice Secretary David Lammy to intervene or meet lawyers, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other officials say existing rules and procedures are being followed.

“Some detainees arrested before a movement was banned last July are now on hunger strike, with several having already exceeded the legal 182-day remand limit”

Al-Jazeera Net

Coverage also records calls from opposition figures and campaigning politicians for greater engagement and concern over how remand and protest bans are being handled.

Public actions and protests have accompanied the strikes.

These included demonstrations outside HMP Bronzefield, interventions by MPs, and at least one arrest during a protest.

Azat TV

Campaigners and relatives compared the hunger strikes to past political hunger protests.

Prisoners' supporters said the government ban on Palestine Action and extended pre-trial remand were central grievances.