Urgent appeal to save the lives of Palestine hunger strikers Action | Human rights

To the United Kingdom Government:

We, the undersigned, write to you today as survivors of state violence.

We are a collective of former hunger strikers from Palestine, Ireland and Guantánamo Bay. Hunger strikes only end when power intervenes or when people die. We have learned, through the pain, permanent damage and downfall of our comrades, how states behave when prisoners have no choice but to refuse the only right granted to them: food.

That is why we write in uncompromising solidarity with the hunger strikers detained in British prisons today: Qesser Zuhrah, Amu Gib, Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed, Teuta Hoxha, Jon Cink, Lewie Chiaramello and Muhammad Umer Khalid. They are being held in pre-trial detention, without trial or conviction. For some, their pre-trial detention lasts more than a year, and for most, they will not be tried for two years.

The British government chose prolonged pretrial detention, isolation and censorship. He chose to restrict their contact with loved ones, permit medical neglect, and use the language of terror in an insidious attempt to deliberately deprive these prisoners of public sympathy and their basic rights before a trial could take place.

We cannot forget what the hunger strikers stand for today. They represent Palestine. They advocate dismantling the weapons infrastructure that is killing Palestinians. They represent the end of the apartheid regime put in place by the Israeli government. They stand in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners. They defend the complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.

For years, Palestinian prisoners have been subjected to systematic abuse in Israeli prisons, including well-documented torture, extreme sexual violence, neglected medical care and death in custody. Yet the British government, through its unwavering support for the Israeli state, continues to choose to be complicit in its actions. He chooses to continue arming Israel and shielding Israeli officials from accountability while Palestinian bodies – men, women and children – are raped and destroyed in their streets, in their homes and behind bars.

The political prisoners of Action Palestine began their hunger strike when they had no other choice. The State’s decision to rely on the qualification of “terrorism” to impose systematic repression on those who refuse to comply leaves them with no other alternative in the search for the rights recognized to them by law.

This is not a new phenomenon: the use of the word “terrorism” has long been used to manufacture fear, to poison public perception, and to justify the repeated violation of even the most fundamental human rights. Once this label is applied, rights become conditional, freedom becomes transactional and the presumption of innocence evaporates. The rule of law that is so proudly claimed to be respected is quickly desecrated in the face of a singular word, used by unscrupulous politicians determined to protect their own interests: “terrorist”.

Banning Palestine Action was not a security issue. It was about control. The repeated and flagrant violations of legal procedures were not intended to convince the public that this was a dangerous organization; it was about condemning the prisoners before they were tried. It was about isolating them, criminalizing solidarity and sending a warning to anyone who might speak out or organize against the Israeli war machine.

No trial conducted in an atmosphere of state-manufactured fear can be considered fair, and no jury exposed to decades of terrorist rhetoric can function impartially. These prisoners were defamed when the announcement of their arrest mentioned a “link with terrorism”, even though this procedure had not taken place.

We therefore demand the following:

1. An urgent ministerial meeting with families and legal representatives to agree on actions that will preserve the lives of hunger strikers. Immediate release on bail of Action Palestine prisoners (known as the Filton 24) and all hunger strikers.

2. Dropping terrorism charges aimed at criminalizing dissent.

3. Fair trial conditions, free from fear-motivated narratives and political interference.

4. Immediate access to independent medical care chosen by prisoners.

5. An end to censorship and restrictions on family visits.

In 1981, Britain chose to let Irish hunger strikers die in Long Kesh prison. In the 2000s, Britain chose to remain silent about the fate of Guantánamo Bay detainees. For decades, Britain – and other governments – continued to choose inaction in Palestine. Each time, British officials claimed that responsibility lay elsewhere. Each time, history has recorded the truth.

The Suffragettes, despite being force-fed and branded terrorists, are today celebrated as heroes and freedom fighters. The Long Kesh prisoners, despite the vilification they received, are now seen as an essential part of the peace achieved under the Good Friday Agreement. Guantánamo Bay prisoners, despite their inhumane treatment and public consent to torture, were not tried and were mostly released without conviction.

Just as they were all vindicated, history will also vindicate the Palestine Action prisoners who sought to stop the massacre of innocent people, against the wishes and interests of the British government.

We are not mere observers, but witnesses to the injustice currently inflicted by the state against people whom history will undoubtedly vindicate, as it did for the hunger strikers who preceded it.

Signatories:

Shadi Zayed Saleh Odeh, Palestine

Mahmoud Radwan, Palestine

Othman Bilal, Palestine

Mahmoud Sidqi Suleiman Radwan, Palestine

Loay Odeh, Palestine

Tommy McKearney, Ireland

Laurence McKeown, Ireland

Tom McFeely, Ireland

John Nixon, Ireland

Mansoor Adayfi (GTMO441), Guantanamo

Lakhdar Boumediene, Guantanamo

Samir Naji Moqbel, Guantanamo

Mopat Athi, AA Panna

Khds de Khdsa, Syllan

Ahmed Rabbani, Guantanamo

Sharqawi Al-Hajj, Guantanamo

Saeed Sarim, Guantanamo

Mahmoud Al Moudjahid, Guantanamo

Hussein Al-Marfadi, Guantanamo

Osama Abu Kabir, Guantanamo

Abdul Halim Siddiqui, Guantanamo

Ahmed Adnan Ahjam, Guantanamo

Abdel Malik Al Rahabi, Guantanamo

Ahmed Elrashidi, Guantanamo

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.