"Witch Hunt": Jailed U.K. Palestine Action Activists Continue Hunger Strike Despite Health Risks

Alarm is growing over the treatment and deteriorating health of eight pro-Palestinian activists jailed in the United Kingdom who are on hunger strike to protest their detention. The activists remain imprisoned as they await trial over charges linked to their work with Palestine Action, which the British government has banned under its Terrorism Act over direct action protests against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Several of the activists who began their hunger strike in early November are now in “a critical stage” and facing grave health risks or death, according to Dr. James Smith, a doctor supporting the hunger strikers. “This is an extremely critical moment, and, frankly speaking, it defies comprehension that members of the government have refused even to meet with the hunger strikers in an attempt to resolve this situation.”

We also speak with Francesca Nadin, a spokesperson for Prisoners for Palestine, which is supporting the jailed activists. She says the harsh treatment of the hunger strikers is part of a “coordinated witch hunt that reflects the wider repression of the pro-Palestine movement” in the U.K. and around the world. “The people that have taken part in this hunger strike feel like they have no other choice left to them but to take this into their own hands,” Nadin says.