Family of Palestine Action prisoner on hunger strike say her health is deteriorating
Family of Palestine Action prisoner on hunger strike say her health is deteriorating
The family of a Palestine Action activist being held in an English prison say they are concerned for her health after she marked the 22nd day of her hunger strike over her deteriorating detention conditions.
The 29-year-old prisoner, named “T Hoxha”, is one of the "Filton 24" - activists from the now-proscribed direct action group Palestine Action who were arrested on terrorism charges.
Those charges were in connection with an action in August 2024, when six activists drove a modified van into the research and development hub of UK-based Israeli arms company, Elbit Systems, in Filton, Bristol.
Hoxha has been on remand since November 2024, awaiting her trial which will start in April 2026.
She launched her hunger strike at HMP Peterborough 22 days ago over the prison’s suspension of her recreational activities, her removal from her job at the prison library, and the withholding of her mail.
A member of Hoxha’s family told Middle East Eye they are concerned that her health is rapidly deteriorating.
"She's developed a rash and jaw ache on her left side," said the family member, who wished to remain anonymous.
"She is constantly nauseous and needs to get up very slowly otherwise her blood pressure drops and she needs to raise her legs up to get the blood circulating back round her head."
The family said that the prison healthcare team only started measuring her ketone and blood sugar levels on 25 August, finding that her ketone levels, which indicate blood acidity, were high and blood sugar low.
'She tries to drink 1 litre of water a day but as the hunger strike has progressed, she's struggling to finish even 500 ml a day'
- T Hoxha's family
High ketone levels can risk the development of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which can be life threatening.
Her family reported that on Friday her blood sugar levels stood at 2.9 mmol/L- blood sugar levels below 4 mmol/L are considered low. Her ketone level was 3.5mmol/L, which means she could be at risk of DKA.
"She tries to drink 1 litre of water a day but as the hunger strike has progressed, she's struggling to finish even 500 ml a day," the family member said.
Hoxha’s family said that the prison management failed to log her strike until one week in, delaying her healthcare checks, meaning she received her first check on 19 August, despite initiating her strike on the 11th.
She was given electrolytes on the 19th, despite requesting them from the start of her strike, her family said.
They also reported that a nurse tried to make Hoxha sign a waiver form stating that she would bear all the responsibility for her own health, which she refused to do.
Support from US prisoner
Hoxha's condition has drawn transatlantic support: US prisoner Casey Goonan, who is facing up to 20 years in prison after he pled guilty to setting fire to a police vehicle in response to the treatment of pro-Palestine protestors, on Wednesday launched his own hunger strike from California’s Santa Rita Jail in solidarity along with his cell mate.
“As captives imprisoned for our participation in the Palestinian liberation movement in the West, we have a responsibility to each other across borders to pursue our lives in prison with the same steadfastness as the Palestinian prisoners movement held captive in Israeli prisons,” Goonan and his cellmate said in a statement.
The UK government proscribed Palestine Action under anti-terror laws on 4 July, following an incident in which members broke into RAF Brize Norton and attacked with paint and crowbars two planes they said were “used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East".
The designation puts Palestine Action on a par with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State under British law, making it a criminal offence to show support for or invite support for the group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act 2000.
In response, hundreds of people have defied the ban, staging rallies across the country in which participants held placards reading: "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."
According to London's Metropolitan Police, 114 people have been charged with Terrorism Act offences linked to Palestine Action support.
Despite the Filton 24 defendants now facing non-terror related charges, including aggravated burglary and criminal damage, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that it would argue in court that the offences have a “terrorist connection”, which could aggravate their sentences.
Asked to comment on Hoxha's treatment and condition, HMP Peterborough said it could not provide information about specific individuals.
"However, we can confirm that all prisoners have full access to meals. Any prisoner refusing food receives regular medical assessment and support from clinicians, as well as being offered mental health support," it said.
‘When people become powerless, they get desperate'
Hoxha's family say she was removed from her role in the library on 1 August without any explanation.
“She came back from an appointment and checked her timetable and saw that she had been removed from her job,” Hoxha’s family member told MEE.
Prisoners are required to perform a job within the prison, if they do not engage with their assigned role, they can face punishment.
'Since proscription, [prison has] become more punitive. It's become more draconian. Whoever is on duty on the day will determine what the relevant rule is'
- Simon Pook, lawyer to Palestine Action prisoners
Around the same time, Hoxha was informed she was also being barred from her recreational classes.
“So that means her book club, her creative writing classes, anything which could help stimulate her mind,” her family member said.
She was also informed that her mail was being withheld, without explanation.
Initially, the prison management told Hoxha that she was removed from her role at the library to avoid contact with her co-defendants, who do not work there.
Later, they said that her job would allow her to mix with other prisoners and influence them, according to her lawyer, Katie McFadden.
Hoxha was given verbal assurance that her job would be reinstated, but did not receive confirmation in writing.
When she failed to get a response, Hoxha launched her hunger strike, hanging a sign on her cell door announcing her decision.
“She was just put in a position where she felt so powerless. And when people become powerless, they get really desperate, and she is now fundamentally undermining her long-term health, because it's the only way that she can do something,” McFadden said.
“It's the only little bit of power that she currently has. It's devastating to watch.”
HMP Peterborough told MEE it offers "a wide range of education and employment opportunities within the prison".
"While not every opportunity is suitable for all prisoners, there are options for everyone," it said.
Hoxha's lawyer says she was given a “governor’s adjudication”, an internal disciplinary measure that can result in restrictions on visits and access to prison facilities, in response to her hunger strike.
McFadden says the new restrictions were also administered because Hoxha allegedly tried to instigate a protest by shouting “free Palestine”.
“She’d been told by prison officers that, as far as they’re concerned, it's now illegal to support Palestine, and if you support Palestine, that makes you a terrorist,” she told MEE.
Police have previously confirmed that the proscription targets the group and "does not interfere with the right to protest in support of the Palestinian cause".
McFadden also reported that she was scheduled to meet with Hoxha on Thursday via video link, but the prison authorities cancelled the meeting, informing her that the lawyer had cancelled it.
Increasing pressure
McFadden and two other lawyers representing Palestinian Action members have noted that their treatment has significantly worsened in the aftermath of the group’s proscription.
Lawyer Simon Pook said that four of his clients, all of them women, are facing a sharp deterioration in conditions, including restrictions on their mail and visitations.
“Mail seems to be withheld, depending on who is sorting the rule out whether the rule applies,” Pook told MEE.
According to Pook, despite the senior head of counterterrorism visiting individual prisoners and telling them he didn’t know why their mail was being withheld, it continues to be withheld for certain inmates.
“There's an official list of where you should order your books and your stationery from. But even when that happens, they're not getting the item sent to them,” Pook said.
He added that visits are also arbitrarily withdrawn, or the head of security at the prison is stationed next to a table during a family visit.
Pook also reported that some of his clients have told him that the prison staff are warning other prisoners that they would lose their privileges or their status if they are seen to be talking to Palestine Action prisoners.
“There appears to be a discriminatory practice of saying to other prisoners: these are terrorists, and if you are seen talking to them, you will face a sanction and we will mark you down on the system,” Pook said.
According to Pook, the discriminatory treatment of Palestine Action prisoners was initially “low level”.
“They weren’t used to dealing with such a large number of so-called ‘actionist’ or ‘terrorist’ prisoners, so they were getting their head around it, and they were quick to resolve the errors,” Pook said.
“But since proscription, it's become more punitive. It's become more draconian. Whoever is on duty on the day will determine what the relevant rule is.”
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