What should happen about the hunger strikers?

[noblegiraffe]

There are a group of people currently on remand in prison awaiting trial for criminal activities taken in support of the (currently) proscribed terrorist group Palestine Action. Some of them have gone on hunger strike and are suffering health impacts and some have been hospitalised.

Their demands appear to be:
to be released on bail
for Palestine Action to be de-proscribed as a terrorist group
for the UK to stop selling arms to Israel

I'm seeing various MPs writing earnest letters to David Lammy as Justice Secretary, saying that he must meet with them urgently to discuss their demands.

And then what?

It should go without saying that I really don't want people to die, and I'm sure that their families must be frantic, but what is actually expected to happen here? The proscription of Palestine Action is being appealed in the courts and I don't think people threatening to kill themselves should impact the democratic process.

Being released on bail? While I agree that it is shocking that they have been held in prison for 2 years while awaiting trial, because the justice system should work faster than that, they are active members of a currently proscribed terrorist organisation. At least one of the hunger strikers took part in the attack on Elbit where a female police officer had her back broken by one of the activists who attacked her with a sledgehammer while she lay on the ground. There's plenty of video footage of this, and I don't think the hunger strikers have condemned it. If they did get bail by threatening to kill themselves, surely everyone would then give it a go?

So what should happen?

Zarah Sultana and a bunch of protestors have turned up outside the prison demanding an ambulance for one of the protestors they say is close to death. They want immediate medical treatment.

But the treatment she needs is food and she is refusing to eat.

So do they want her to be force-fed?

At the same time they are chanting through loudspeakers about how proud they are of her and her actions, effectively encouraging her to continue to refuse food.

I have literally no idea what they are expecting. If they are desperate for her not to die they should be encouraging her to eat not continue the strike. What a horrendous situation they are cheering on.

I’ve seen the tiktok videos of someone declaring themselves an “a&e doctor” banging on the prison door and demanding access. Telling the prison staff they’re all going to get prosecuted for denying medical treatment. It seems from other comments that they’re also complaining about the prison refusing to let an ambulance transfer the prisoner to hospital….it sounds like the activists keep ringing an ambulance. The prison certainly aren’t ringing for one.

that doctor needs reporting.

The Minister confirmed all due processes for hunger strikers have been followed. I believe him. These people are nothing more than agitators. Sultana has already been caught telling some pretty inexcusable lies, I don’t trust a word that comes out of her mouth.

6pm Palestine Action-linked hunger striker Qesser Zuhrah taken to hospital

🤷‍♀️ starving yourself will do that

Yes, that's usually what happens when you go on hunger strike. What a monumental waste of NHS resources at a time when it's already massively stretched.

And the idiots are shouting after her 'we're proud of you' instead of 'eat something'.

The treatment she needs is food. She's refusing that. What are doctors supposed to do?

Common purpose, makes them all culpable

It's an interesting one
She has capacity...
An unwise decision isn't a reason to be sectioned and force fed
The British used this with the Price sister s in the 1970s .. they didn't enforce this in 1981
(See the current show on channel 4 say nothing)
A hunger strike is going to be a propaganda tool

I don't think anyone wants them to die, we just don't care if they do die, it's very different. You're bang on about compassion for them though, yep I definitely have none 👍

“4 of them took part in an attack on a business where a female police officer had her spine broken by one of the group repeatedly hitting her with a sledgehammer.
Others took part in an attack on our national security by vandalising planes causing millions of damage at taxpayers' expense (while Russia ramps up the threats against us).”

They sound a lovely bunch….

I’m confused as to why they’re ’demanding ambulances’ and treatment. Surely the whole point is that they’re using their potential death as leverage, if they demand medical intervention then there’s no leverage as they’re not going to die.

The IRA had the grace to actually decline medical intervention and, to be fair to them, did see their strikes through to the bitter end without fannying about demanding their MP get them an ambulance.

You're an absolute disgrace of a human being.

Can see from this thread that nobody in England learned a thing from the IRA hunger strikers then.

Quite. Not that I have any interest in this bunch of turds making tactically sensible decisions, but they're rather ballsing this up.

Whats your actual point? I’m genuinely unclear. Do you think the govt should capitulate and let anyone out of prison if they refuse to eat?

So they blackmail the UK until we allow them to run their terrorist organisation in our country? They have a choice, eat or not, I don't care which.

I stated my point very clearly, not sure how you can't understand it? My point is that nothing has been learned from the IRA hunger strikers by the English government as they seem to find themselves in the same situation and just as clueless as to how to respond to it.

Thank you. That last sentence which was missing from your first post is what adds the context. Someone just saying that nothing has been learned from previous hunger strikes could mean a variety of things.

There are two options:
capitulate to the demands
don't capitulate to the demands.

Everything else is fluff.

Which option would you have the government take?

My take on it is that the Government have taken the position not to respond - not that they are 'clueless'.

What response is there?

These people knew when offending that there are often huge delays in criminal cases, which lead to people being remanded in custody for a lot longer than normal. They chose to offend anyway. They’re now starving themselves because they’re spoilt brats who thought they’d not get punished.

The British government have a 100% success rate of not bending to hunger strikers, they’re not going to blemish their record now. So I would say they’ve been successful and there’s nothing to learn.

There is nothing to respond to.

The British government can't do anything.

If they did then every prisoner or person with a grievance would try and do the same to get a response.

It wouldn't be too long before two people with two completely polarised views wanting exactly the opposite thing would strike, leaving the Government unable to fulfil both demands.

Then what.

Honestly there is literally nothing the government CAN do, without completely undermining the entire justice and democratic systems. Even if they happen to be politically wrong on whatever subject a hunger striker may be trying to draw attention to.

The government can not make decisions based on hunger strikers. They can only make decisions based on other forms of political engagement and debate.

I really do not understand how people fail to comprehend this.

What should they be doing then? What lessons should have been learned?