We stand in solidarity with the eight imprisoned activists associated with Palestine Action, several of whom have now reached over 40 days of their hunger strike. Their condition is critical. Five have already been hospitalised, and each passing day brings the risk of irreversible harm.
These young people – none of whom have been convicted – have been held in extraordinary pre-trial detention, with intensifying restrictions on their mail, calls, visits, and work. These measures target not only their bodies but their ability to stay connected to their families, communities, and the outside world. For many, this has been ongoing for over a year – with some trial dates not scheduled until 2027 – simply for taking action to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Despite several U Rapporteurs describing their treatment as constituting “enforced disappearance,” and doctors warning they are in the danger zone where irreparable harm is likely, David Lammy has refused to meet with their families or representatives.
This refusal to engage is not an oversight – it is a deliberate political choice. The government has consistently chosen to use repressive policing powers to try to silence those protesting against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. It is now choosing to ignore this emergency, suppress those raising the alarm, and shield the state’s complicity in the violence these hunger strikers sought to prevent.
While the genocide in Gaza continues – with daily violations of the so-called ceasefire – the government carries on with business as usual. The architects and enablers of this violence go unpunished, while these prisoners, who acted to stop it, are left to suffer in
indefinite detention.
The criminalisation and vilification of Palestine solidarity will not stop people from standing against mass violence or demanding accountability; it only reflects the discomfort of a political order confronted by its own complicity.
We will be protesting on Wednesday evening outside Downing Street. We support the prisoners’ demands and call for their immediate release on bail and an end to Britain’s complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide. We will not be silenced in our solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Palestinian Forum in Britain
Friends of Al-Aqsa
Stop the War Coalition
Muslim Association of Britain
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament