A prisoner linked to the pro-Palestinian activist group Palestine Action, now on the 71st day of a hunger strike, has told a visiting friend that she is dying. The stark declaration came during a weekend visit to HMP New Hall in Wakefield, where Heba Muraisi, 31, is being held.
‘Her body is shutting down’
Francesca Nadin, who visited Muraisi on Saturday, described being shocked by her friend's severely deteriorated physical state. "I was shocked – I mean I shouldn’t be – at how skinny she is, like a paper thing," Nadin said. She reported that Muraisi is now so frail that hugging her felt dangerous, and that she must wear a face mask due to a critically weakened immune system.
Nadin stated that Muraisi struggles to sit for long periods because she has lost all her body fat. "She’s dying. She said it: ‘I’m dying.’ Her body’s shutting down," Nadin recounted, accusing the government of not merely letting her die but actively killing her by denying her rights.
Muraisi has reported suffering from chest pains and twitches, raising fears of potential heart failure. Her plight is shared by fellow hunger striker Kamran Ahmed, 28, who is on day 64. Doctors have warned Ahmed that he is suffering from heart muscle shrinkage, with his heart rate dropping to 40 beats per minute, leaving him at risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
Key demands of the strikers
The group of hunger strikers, which includes others like Lewie Chiaramello and Umar Khalid who have fasted or are fasting in solidarity, have issued a clear set of demands. Their primary calls are for:
- A fair trial and immediate bail, noting all will have spent over 18 months in prison before trial for Palestine Action-related activities.
- The deproscription of Palestine Action as an organisation.
- The closure of UK sites operated by the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems.
- An end to censorship of their communications.
An additional personal demand is for Muraisi to be moved back to HMP Bronzefield, as her current prison in Wakefield is hundreds of miles from her family and support network.
Global solidarity and condemnation
The situation has drawn significant attention and condemnation from high-profile international figures. On Monday, authors and scholars including Naomi Klein, Angela Davis, Judith Butler, Sally Rooney, Kamila Shamsie, and China Miéville issued a statement of solidarity. Their message echoed a slogan seen on recent climate protests: "We oppose genocide, we support the Palestine Action prisoners."
Professor Peter Hallward of Kingston University, one of the academic signatories, issued a severe warning: "The UK is now perilously close to full descent into authoritarian rule. Ministers won’t even meet with hunger strikers who are now at death’s door." He accused the government of being ready to let opponents of genocide "waste away and die."
Supporters of the hunger strikers, like Nadin who once occupied the same cell, now describe waking every day "full of dread, full of pain and sadness." The government has been approached for comment on the escalating health crisis and the strikers' demands.
