Portsmouth Greens call on MPs over hunger strikes linked to Palestine Action
The Portsmouth Green Party has called on the city’s MPs to urge the government to meet the demands of prisoners currently on hunger strike in UK jails.
In a recent statement, the Portsmouth Green Party said it stands in solidarity with “all the peace activists on hunger strike in UK prisons today”, including those involved in the “Filton 24” case and others arrested following a break-in at HMS Brize Norton.
The “Filton 24” refers to a group of Palestine Action activists facing terrorism-related charges for disrupting Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems’ Filton site in 2024.
Last year, the same organisation broke into the RAF Brize Norton airbase. Palestine Action was later proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the Labour government.
There are around 29 Palestine Action prisoners currently being held on remand, with three on hunger strike.
They include Heba Maraisi, 31, and Kamran Ahmed, 28, who were arrested in November 2024 following the break-in at the Elbit Systems facility. They have been on hunger strike for 73 and 66 days respectively.
Lewie Chiaramello, 22, was arrested in July last year in connection with the incident at RAF Brize Norton. He is on day 52 of an intermittent hunger strike due to type one diabetes.
The local Green Party has urged Portsmouth Labour MPs Stephen Morgan and Amanda Martin to press the government to meet with the hunger strikers’ lawyers to address their demands.
These include the granting of immediate bail, the closure of Elbit Systems factories in the UK, and reversing the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
In their statement, the party said: “In the UK the maximum time for imprisonment on remand (meaning without a trial) is supposed to be six months. For several of the Hunger Strikers, who have been on remand without bail or even trial for over a year now, death is becoming imminent.
“It is awful enough that these young, courageous, peace activists are in prison for defending the lives of those thousands of miles away when our government would not. Please do not let their lives end during prison time they never should have faced.”
Elliott Lee, coordinator of Portsmouth Green Party, said: “We would not be in this position if Labour simply treated their complicity as the war crime it is. But it is no surprise, nothing has changed. Former human rights lawyer Kier Starmer deems the situation as ‘complicated’, meanwhile, the Tory-style crackdown on protest persists.”
In a joint response, Portsmouth’s MPs said: “While very concerning, hunger strikes are not a new issue for the country’s prisons. Over the last five years, there has been an average over 200 a year.
“There are longstanding procedures in place to ensure prisoner safety. Prison healthcare teams provide NHS care and continuously monitor the situation.
“His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service is clear that claims that hospital care is being refused are entirely misleading. They will always be taken when needed and a number of these prisoners have already been treated in hospital.
“The prisoners are charged with very serious offences including aggravated burglary and criminal damage. This included an alleged attack on a police officer with a sledgehammer, fracturing her back.
“Remand decisions are for independent judges, and lawyers can make representations to the court on behalf of their clients.
“As a country we have a justice system that is based on the separation of powers, and the independent judiciary is the cornerstone of our system.
“It would be entirely unconstitutional and inappropriate for Government Ministers to intervene in ongoing legal cases.”