MP protests in support of hunger strike prisoner

An MP has staged a protest outside a prison demanding urgent medical care for a hunger striker there.

Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana said Qesser Zuhrah was “critically ill” with an “immediate” risk of dying after refusing food for 46 days.

Ms Zuhrah is on remand at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey awaiting trial on charges linked to the activities of Palestine Action before the group was banned under terrorism legislation

Posting on X, Sultana called for an ambulance to be allowed into the prison. Later on Wednesday, the MP and other protestors confirmed Ms Zuhrah was transferred to hospital.

The government proscribed Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act in July, making membership of or support for the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

The then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to ban the group on 23 June, saying that the vandalism of two planes at RAF Brize Norton was “disgraceful” and that the group had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”.

The group’s co-founder, Huda Ammori, was granted permission to appeal in July after her lawyers argued the ban breached the right to free speech.

The judge refused an appeal to temporarily lift the ban and it remains proscribed, with High Court judges expected to rule within weeks on the lawfulness of the ban.

Posting on X on Tuesday evening, Sultana wrote: “I am urgently on my way to HMP Bronzefield.

“Palestine hunger striker Qesser Zuhrah, now on day 46, is being refused an ambulance by the prison.

“She is critically ill and at immediate risk of dying. I have contacted [Justice Secretary] David Lammy and [Health Secretary] Wes Streeting and received no response.”

Protesters later said Ms Zuhrah had since been taken to hospital, with footage shared on X by campaign group Defend Our Juries showing an ambulance leaving the site.

Green Party peer Baroness Jenny Jones said she was assured Ms Zuhrah had been taken to hospital before she left the protest.

“The protesters were all ages, all colours but very united and working well,” she added.

Sultana also confirmed on X shortly after 20:00 GMT that Ms Zuhrah had been transferred to hospital.

South East Coast Ambulance Service confirmed it attended the prison on Wednesday but would not give any further detail.

A spokesperson for HMP Bronzefield said it could not provide information about specific individuals but said all prisoners had full access to healthcare, including attendance to “external medical facilities if needed”.

They said: “Any prisoner refusing food receives regular medical assessment and support from clinicians, as well as being offered mental health support.”

The prison said all prisoners were managed in line with policies to assess “individual risks and security status”.

Protests were taking place in five different prisons involving eight people, including Ms Zuhrah, who have all been charged with offences linked to the activities of Palestine Action, before the group was banned under terrorism legislation.

A letter by lawyers representing the group, seen by the BBC, told Lammy there was a “real and increasingly likely potential” their clients would die in prison as part of their protest.

The BBC has contacted Sultana and the Ministry of Justice for comment.