Palestine Action-linked prisoners end hunger strike
Three Palestine Action-linked prisoners ended a 73-day long hunger strike after the government decided not to award a multi-billion-pound contract to the UK subsidiary of Israeli arms company, Elbit Systems.
Four others who paused their hunger strike agreed not to resume it.
Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed, and Lewie Chiaramello were the last remaining prisoners on hunger strike.
Teuta Hoxha, Jon Cink, Qesser Zuhrah, and Amu Gib, who paused their strikes late last year, also agreed to end their hunger strike.
Muraisi, Ahmed, and Chiaramello agreed to end their hunger strike late on Wednesday after news broke that the British government had agreed not to award a £2bn contract to Elbit Systems.
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Muraisi and Ahmed's hunger strikes last over 70 days, while Chiaramello, who has Type 1 Diabetes and refused food every other day, was on day 46.
The decision to end the hunger strike comes as medical experts issued repeated warnings to the government that the prisoners on hunger strike were close to dying and facing irreparable organ damage.
Key demands met
Prisoners for Palestine (PFP), a group that has been supporting the families and friends of the hunger strikers, said the action - which is considered to be largest since the 1981 Irish Republican hunger strike - had achieved a number of victories, with several key demands being met.
Claiming the cancellation of Elbit's contract as a "resounding victory," it warned that the arms company's "days in Britain are numbered".
PFP that in the past few weeks alone 500 people had signed up to take direct action against weapons firms linked to Israel's genocidal war in Gaza, which it said was "more than the amount of people who took action with Palestine Action over its five-year campaign".
'The hunger strike has cemented this fact to the country and the world: Britain has political prisoners in service of a foreign genocidal regime'
- Prisoners for Palestine
The group also pointed to a meeting between representatives of the hunger strikers and the national heads of prison healthcare.
They said this followed months of "cruel and constant medical neglect of the hunger strikers; including not logging food refusal, refusal of ambulances in life threatening emergencies, and degrading treatment in hospital".
The Ministry of Justice had repeatedly refused requests to meet with MPs and representatives of the hunger strikers.
The group also highlighted that Muraisi's demand to be transferred back to HMP Bronzefield in Surrey had been accepted by HMP New Hall in Wakefield.
PFP said the continued imprisonment of the hunger strikers will remain a “stain on Britain’s facade of being a ‘democratic’ country”.
“The hunger strike has cemented this fact to the country and across the world: Britain has political prisoners in service of a foreign genocidal regime,” the group said.
“In a time of worsening political repression, and widespread propaganda about a non-existent ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza, the hunger strike stands as a testament of continued defiance.”
Audrey Corno, a loved one of Teuta Hoxha, who ended her hunger strike after the prison agreed to some of her demands to end restrictions to her prison communications, described the ordeal of the friends and families of the hunger strikers as a “painful experience” for their loved ones.
“To finally declare victory is enormous. Although the long-term impacts on their health remain to be seen, and the refeeding process for Heba and Kamran will be critical, it is a relief that the recovery process will begin,” said Corno.
Nida Jafri, a loved one of Gib who ended their hunger strike late last year, condemned the government’s decision to ignore the hunger strikers and said families and friends have suffered in silence.
“We, the loved ones of the hunger strikers, have had to watch our friends go without food for 50 to 70 days while Labour has refused to engage,” said Jafri.
“The silence and ignorance of Labour ministers have been triggering and a reminder that the state wants to disappear our friends into prison systems and isolate them for questioning Britain’s role in genocide.
“Without any proof of guilt, we’ve seen them punished in advance. Handcuffed to hospital beds while re-feeding. But the government won’t get away with this.
"We’ve built a movement. People know the injustices our friends face, and that Elbit Systems remains entwined with Labour.”
Elbit allegations
Elbit lost out to a consortium led by Raytheon UK for the British Army training contract, according to reports, following complaints in a dossier from a whistleblower that accused the Israeli company of breaking business procurement protocols.
The whistleblower claimed that a former senior British army officer provided information to the Israeli company during the bidding process.
Elbit has also been suspended by Nato from bidding for new tenders amid a wide-ranging corruption investigation into the behaviour of defence companies seeking to win contracts from the military alliance.
Belgium's federal prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for one of Elbit's consultants, Eliau Eluasvili, over allegations he bribed staff at Nato’s Support and Procurement Agency, the Jerusalem Post reported last month.
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