Green Party's Mothin Ali calls on Lammy to help Palestine Action hunger strikers
The Green Party leadership has called on the government to "act before it's too late" after the party’s deputy leader became the first political figure to visit jailed activists affiliated with Palestine Action who are on hunger strike.
Mothin Ali told Middle East Eye he was "horrified" by the conditions endured by two activists, Amu Gib and Jon Cink, whom he visited in HMP Bronsfield in West London.
They are among 24 Palestine Action activists in prison awaiting trial for actions against weapons factories and offices linked to Israel in protest over the genocide in Gaza.
Both prisoners, he said, are on their "last legs" and subjected to what he described as "inhumane" treatment that is "an affront to human decency".
"These young activists are only holding on because of their youth. Both look extremely weak and are struggling with multiple health issues as they continue their hunger strike to oppose the government's treatment of them and the UK's ongoing complicity in genocide," Ali said.
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"This is the biggest hunger strike since Bobby Sands and Irish prisoners went on hunger strike in the 1980s."
Ali visited the hunger strikers as part of an official Green Party delegation, which he said was “united in its support” for the activists.
Describing the prisoners as "visibly frail," Ali said they remained in "high spirits but were struggling".
"Their cheekbones were protruding, and their eyes had sunken in," he said.
"These prisoners deserve bail, medical care, and the right to a fair trial. Instead, they are being punished to make an example of them."
Early Day Motion
Ali also urged Green Party MPs in parliament to support an Early Day Motion tabled by Labour's John McDonnell.
The motion calls on the UK’s justice secretary, David Lammy, to intervene on behalf of the hunger strikers and "ensure their treatment is humane and their human rights are upheld".
'These prisoners deserve bail, medical care, and the right to a fair trial. Instead, they are being punished to make an example of them'
- Mothin Ali, Green Party
Six of the hunger strikers affiliated with Palestine Action have been on hunger strike after being held on remand without trial for many months for allegedly taking part in direct-action protests.
The prisoners are calling for immediate bail and an end to prison interference with their personal communications, as well as lifting the ban on Palestine Action.
Late on Wednesday, family and friends of the six hunger strikers met with McDonnell and other MPs, warning that "time is running out" for their loved ones.
Ella Mousdale, a friend of 20-year-old Qesser Zuhrah, arrested and held on remand for her suspected involvement in the Palestine Action raid at Elbit Systems' HQ in Filton, Bristol in August 2024, said her friend is "trying to stay strong, but becoming weaker by the day".
"Going without food or water for 32 days is difficult for anyone. Qesser is unable to sleep. She shivers all the time, which wastes away the little energy she has left," said Moudale, outside parliament.
"She is in extreme pain all over her body and suffers from debilitating headaches, but the biggest worry we have for her is that her blood pressure is starting to drop, which puts her at risk of hospitalisation."
Two of the six hunger strikers have been hospitalised, according to the campaign group Prisoners for Palestine.
Shamina Alam, the sister of Kamran Ahmed, was also part of the delegation that met MPs in parliament on Wednesday afternoon.
Alam said her brother is recovering but continues his hunger strike after collapsing in his prison cell and being subsequently hospitalised for several days.
Ahmed's sister said the "scariest" part of her brother's hunger strike was "being unable to speak to him when he was in hospital".
"When Kamran was hospitalised, we are incommunicado, meaning we were unable to speak with him or know how he was doing," said Ahmed.
"We are worried as a family, but understand why he has decided to go on a hunger strike. It just makes no sense why the government is refusing to engage with them.
"But right now we live in constant anxiety - not knowing whether the next call will be news that we are all dreading."
The Ministry of Justice did not respond to MEE's request for comment at the time of writing.
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