Fears for Palestine Action activist who has been on starvation strike for almost 70 days
A Palestine Action activist who has been on hunger strike for 69 days is at risk of death, the terror group has warned.
Heba Muraisi, 31, has lost 10kg, is struggling to breathe and is suffering from headaches after turning down food at HMP New Hall in Yorkshire following alleged break-ins and criminal damage.
Five of the original eight protesters who began the hunger strike have given up over health fears.
Muraisi, who had worked as a florist and lifeguard, is still not eating as she demands immediate bail for her alleged crimes.
Lawyers for the prisoners claim they will have spent more than a year in custody by the time of their trial.
Prisons minister Lord Timpson said they are charged with ‘serious offences including aggravated burglary and criminal damage’ and remand decisions are made by independent judges.
Muraisi is now at serious risk of permanent damage to her health and death, a leading neurologist has claimed.
The 31-year-old ‘is very gaunt’ according to a friend, who added her ‘cheekbones are very prominent’ and she is ‘physically exhausted’.
Palestine Action activist Heba Muraisi, 31, has been on hunger strike for 69 days and is at risk of death
Pictured: Supporters of the Palestine Action hunger strikers protest in Parliament square last month
‘I think she’s lost over 10kg now. She looks very different to the photographs that you’ll see of her,’ Amareen Afzal told Sky News.
‘She is constantly suffering with headaches and lightheadedness. Sometimes she gets so lightheaded she feels nauseous and that’s quite common.’
Muraisi also finds sleeping on one side of her body a struggle because it is too painful and is aware her body ‘could fail at any moment’.
Muraisi’s next of kin, Francesca Nadin, said earlier this week she was having difficulty breathing and thinking clearly.
‘It is really concerning. But mentally, she is still strong and able to laugh and joke.
‘We just don’t know when that deterioration will come.’
She noted Muraisi has surpassed the time the IRA’s Bobby Sands, who died while imprisoned in Northern Ireland in 1981, was on strike.
Eight activists have taken part in Palestine Action’s strike, which is the largest in the UK since 1981 when 10 IRA prisoners died.
There have been numerous instances of the protesters being rushed to hospital since the strike began over two months ago, with just three still participating and one turning their full strike into an intermittent fast due to an underlying health problem.
Kamran Ahmed is one of the three Palestine Action supporters who remain on hunger strike
Teuta Hoxha is also on hunger strike after being arrested over alleged criminal damage, aggravated burglary and violent disorder
Teuta Hoxha and Kamran Ahmad are the other two continuing alongside Muraisi.
Neurologist Dr David Nicholl, who has studied prison hunger strikes for two decades, says the biggest risk to the hunger strikers is when they begin to eat again.
‘The biggest risk immediately is what’s called refeeding syndrome.
‘If you picture yourself having not eaten for a number of days, you need to gradually – very gradually – increase your calorie intake.
‘Because your body’s not used to suddenly eating, there’s a risk of getting very sick and actually people have died having stopped the hunger strike, but having developed refeeding syndrome.’
Hoxha has been awaiting trial for 13 months over alleged criminal damage, aggravated burglary and violent disorder at a factory for Elbit systems in Filton, near Bristol.
The Filton action saw over £1million of damage caused to Elbit’s research centre.
A prison officer was allegedly left with a fractured spine after the incident, a court heard.
The other strikers allegedly broke into RAF Brize Norton and damaged two military planes.
The hunger strikers began their protests in November after being arrested for alleged break-ins and criminal damage
Eight prisoners began the hunger strike, the biggest in the UK since the IRA’s in 1981, but just three are continuing
In the aftermath of the incident, Palestine Action said two of its activists infiltrated Britain’s largest RAF base and sprayed red paint into the engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft before escaping without being caught.
They all deny charges related to alleged break-ins or criminal damage.
The trio say they will starve until Palestine Action is de-proscribed and until the UK ends support for companies that send weapons to Israel.
They are also demanding immediate bail or transfers to prisons closer to home so family members can visit.
Lord Timpson said: ‘Prison healthcare teams provide NHS care and continuously monitor the situation. His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service is 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.’
