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?

That’s a bit of a naive question. Lots of people radicalised in their teens.

10 IRA hunger strikers died and more died later of complications related to the hunger strikes.

They are adults who know that actions have consequences they chose their action they accept the consequence even if it’s death

Their ‘demands’ should not be met

Yes starving yourself does seem to have its downsides.

The tiny percentage of arms..... 1% , that arrives from the UK direct to Israel is not going to make any difference to them at all. Most military imports come fromthe US and Germany.

If they die, it will be completely pointless, and their own fault. They are not rational beings.

Why is it naive to ask how she was radicalised? Call it a professional interest as I am a teacher who is supposed to report students at risk of radicalisation.

Was she groomed as a child?

Historically, force-feeding did occur (e.g. suffragettes in the early 20th century), but this is now viewed as unethical and potentially amounting to inhuman or degrading treatment. In situations such as coma, they may be deemed not to have mental capacity and given nutrition by IV.

I don't think potentially starving oneself to death is throwing a tantrum.

And yeah, the mumsnet version of Goodwins law, every thread ends up with trans.

As I said above, I might not agree with them on their cause, but I totally agree they have a right to protest, and be heard.

If they were fascists hunger striking I would still support their right to protest, and be heard.

Of course, if they got out on bail, and continued doing proscribed stuff, then arrest them for that.

Note, when I say be heard, I don't mean published in MSM,

Like the case being tried at the moment, they'll be facing joint enterprise charges and therefore a looong trial. I imagine it can be quite difficult to find long blocks of time when all the defence teams and the prosecution team are free and a judge and courtroom are available for the expected duration.

What are their demands? Ian Huntley was force fed because he was deemed not to have mental capacity. Ian Brady was force fed because he was detained under the Mental Capacity Act. I was a child when the IRA hunger strikers died and remember being shocked as they died one after the other.

Nothing. They have made this choice.

I work in prison healthcare (I don't know any of these prisoners)
Food refusal is very very common. These guys are just a bit more high profile, so it's hit the news
In my prison we almost always have at least one person on refusal at any one time. We know how to deal with it.
No one has died from it in recent memory.
Try not to worry about terrorists

Defendants’ exact roles and which incidents they’re individually charged over has not yet been published in full official court documents in most media reports.

Also.

In my experience, food refusal is often for show. Just because you're not eating the prison meals, doesn't mean you're not eating. There is other food available.

During the 1981 hunger strike, the men died between 46 and 73 days into the strike. Two of the Palestine Action hunger strikers have now gone 38 days without food.

They do have their own website though.

https://filtonactionists.com/meet-the-filton-24/

I suspect that being more high profile increases the stakes as they would be backing down publicly and disappointing their supporters.

Ignore them and don't pay them any attention. Remember one of these so-called 'peaceful protesters' broke a policewoman back with a sledgehammer.

One of them did, and the rest didn’t. There are some very young women who will potentially die first.

Maybe they should try eating so that they don’t die? This is good advice, maybe their supporters should pass it on.

Do you mean the people of Gaza ?

These folk have a cause. And agree or disagree with their cause, they do have a right to protest.

So you’re in the ‘they should just be left to kill themselves’ camp?

I am in the against over long held on remand camp, cos of this innocent till proven guilty thing.

Ooooh he didn't answer the question. Politician?

It’s difficult to just start eating after a prolonged fast. That’s why anorexia nervosa has such a high mortality rate compared to other mental illnesses. It’s also difficult to just stop eating so much when people are well aware of health risks associated with obesity, which is why the weight loss jab manufacturers are making high profits. I think two years is a long time to be on remand.