LMIU statement on Prisoners for Palestine Hunger Strike
Labour Movement for Irish Unity statement on Hunger Strikers
22 December 2025
Labour Movement for Irish Unity notes that a number of political activists continue to be remanded in custody pending trials set down for 2026, and even 2027, and have embarked on a total hunger strike. One is charged with the non-terrorism offences of conspiracy to destroy property and to enter a proscribed place, namely RAF Brize Norton, on 20 June 2025. Four others are detained in relation to non-terrorism changes relating to an action at Elbit Systems Research and Development Centre in Filton, Bristol in August 2024.
These are criminal charges that do not depend on their membership of any political or protest group.
Amy Gardiner- Gibson has been remanded in custody since 3 July 2025. Qessar Zuhrah, Heba Muraisi, Tueta Hoxha and Kamran Ahmed have been remanded in custody since 19 November 2024.
Lord Timpson, Minister of State for Prisons, is quoted as saying that Ministers will not meet with the hunger strikers, as the UK has a justice system based on the separation of powers and that decisions on bail are for the judiciary.
However, the manner in which these detainees are being treated, whilst in custody, is a matter for both him and the Secretary of State for Justice. Evidence from experts and others indicates that those on hunger strike are being denied appropriate medical supervision and treatment. It is a fundamental principle of both domestic and international law that a state has an absolute duty of care towards those in its custody, irrespective of the charges they face. While political disagreement about tactics or aims is legitimate, no government can abrogate its obligation to safeguard the life and health of those in prison. Detaining people without conviction, then allowing them to starve with inadequate medical care, is incompatible with basic human rights and our collective sense of justice.
The manner in which the hunger strikers have been held has also propelled them into a situation where they believed that they had to take drastic action to highlight their circumstances. Their access to correspondence, visits, contact with others in the prison, books, their own possessions and also the privileges usually accorded to those on remand have been denied.
At the same time, the majority have been held in custody in excess of the usual 182-day pre-trial period without apparent consideration of the many restrictions to liberty that could be applied, instead of custody, to young people without a history of criminal convictions
As Irish republicans and socialists, we are painfully aware of the tragic legacy of hunger striking in these islands, from the Suffragettes of the early 20th century to the 1981 Hunger Strike in Belfast’s H-Blocks. In each of these situations the body became the last refuge of dissent against unjust detention and treatment and state indifference. These hunger strikers in British custody are now entering the critical phase of starvation where organ failure and fatal consequences are likely without urgent, humane action.
While political disagreement about tactics or aims is legitimate, no government can abrogate its obligation to safeguard the life and health of prisoners. Detaining people without conviction, then allowing them to starve with inadequate medical care, is incompatible with basic human rights and our collective sense of justice.
We therefore call on the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer MP, the Secretary of State for Justice, David Lammy MP, the Minister of State for Prisons, Lord Timpson to:
• Engage directly with the detainees’ legal representatives to address their concerns and rights to due process and protection
• Ensure that all prisoners, regardless of political context, are treated with dignity, humanity and respect for established legal protections and that police and prison officers do not treat the hunger strikers differently because of their political views and actions
• Urgently review the continued remand in custody of the five young people on hunger strike in conjunction with the British Medical Association, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman, the detainees’ legal representatives, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney-General
• Report back on the findings of such a review to the detainees’ families and legal representatives
Labour Movement for Irish Unity also urges the broader Labour and Trade Union movements in Ireland and Britain to raise their voices in support of these detainees, reminding all that any society should be judged by how it treats those most vulnerable.
We send strength and solidarity to the hunger strikers, their families and communities in this harrowing hour. May their courage not be met with silence. Allowing these brave and conscientious protestors to die will prove as much of a Pyrrhic victory for the British state as Margaret Thatcher’s inhumanity towards the Irish Hunger Strikers of 1981.
Signed on behalf of Labour Movement for Irish Unity