Dozens of pro-Palestine activists in prison threaten ‘historic’ hunger strike

Dozens of activists who are being held on remand for alleged offences relating to Palestine Action activities are threatening to launch a hunger strike over their prison conditions.

In a letter to the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, the campaign group Prisoners for Palestine (PFP) issued a series of demands on “behalf of the 33 people that are unjustly locked up as a result of taking action to stop the genocide in Palestine”.

The prisoners include members of the Filton 24, a group of activists arrested in late 2024 in connection with an action targeting an Elbit Systems factory in Bristol in August 2024.

They also include members of the Brize Norton 5, who allegedly broke into an RAF air base and attacked with paint and crowbars two planes they said were “used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East". 

All have been denied bail, with some spending over a year in custody without trial on charges including criminal damage and aggravated burglary. 

In July, Yvette Cooper, then home secretary, banned Palestine Action and designated the direct action group as a terrorist organisation. 

The ban means Palestine Action is akin to the Islamic State or al-Qaeda in British law, and expressing support or membership of the group is a criminal offence that could lead to a prison sentence of up to 14 years. 

Worsening treatment

Since the proscription, prisoners held in connection with with the group have reported worsening treatment and increasing restrictions imposed by prison officers.

One prisoner, T Hoxha, a member of the Filton 24, launched a hunger strike in August at HMP Peterborough after the prison suspended her recreational activities, stopped her working at the library and withheld her mail.

'The prisoners have decided to do this because they’ve been left with no other choice by their government'

- Audrey Corno and Francesca Nadin

The letter warned Mahmood unless their demands are met the 33 inmates would launch the hunger strike on 2 November, the anniversary of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, when Britain formally declared its support for establishing a Jewish state in Palestine.

Audrey Corno and Francesca Nadin, representatives of PFP who were previously imprisoned for their activism, delivered the letter to the Home Office on Monday.

“If the hunger strike were to go ahead, it would be historic,” Corno told MEE, adding that it would mark the largest coordinated prisoners’ hunger strike since the 1981 Irish hunger strike led by Bobby Sands.

“The prisoners have decided to do this because they’ve been left with no other choice by their government,” Nadin told MEE.

Added Corno: “They have tried to have their demands met through the prison complaint system and judicial system. But they have been consistently let down by both.”

‘A tool of control’

The demands include an “end to all censorship” of prisoners, meaning a removal of restrictions on their communications, including personal mail and phone calls.

“Censorship inside prisons is a tool of control used to punish resistance. Letters, phone calls, political statements, books and all forms of expression must be respected,” the letter reads.

MEE previously reported that prisoners linked to Palestine Action were facing increasing restrictions on their post, phone calls and visitations in the wake of the group’s proscription in July.

According to PFP, Filton 24 prisoners have been subject to mail restrictions throughout their incarceration.

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PFP said Moiz Ibrahim, one of the Filton 24 currently held in HMP Lewes, has had his family and friends' contact details wiped off his phone system - meaning he is now unable to contact them.

The letter further demands that prisoners held on remand in connection with Palestine Action are granted immediate bail, arguing that the decision to refuse bail undermines their right to a fair trial.

“The right to a fair trial must include the right to prepare for it in freedom, not behind bars,” it says.

The letter also calls for the release of “all documents related to our cases in full”.

“This includes all meetings between British and Israeli state officials, the British police, the attorney general, Elbit Systems representatives, and any others involved in the coordinating of the ongoing witch hunt of actionists and campaigners,” the letter read, referencing the Israeli arms firm repeatedly targeted by Palestine Action.

MEE previously reported that then-policing minister Diana Johnson met representatives of an insurance firm targeted by Palestine Action weeks before the group’s proscription in June 2025.

In May, Freedom of Information disclosures emerged suggesting the UK had shared contact details of counterterrorism police with the Israeli embassy during ongoing investigations into Palestine Action activists.

Corno and Nadin said that they expected wider support from other prisoners for the strike.

“I spent some time earlier this year in HMP Bronzefield alongside some of the Filton 24 and I can speak from experience and say that many of the prisoners inside are very on board, and understand why we've taken action and support Palestine and support the actionists,” Corno said.

MEE has asked the Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service, and the Home Office for comment.