A pro-Palestine activist on hunger strike in prison has been transferred to hospital after protestors including Zarah Sultana MP gathered to demand she receive urgent medical treatment.
The Your Party MP joined supporters outside HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, where Qesser Zuhrah was said to be gravely ill.
After Zuhrah was taken away in an ambulance this afternoon, a scuffle broke out between protesters and police outside the jail, with several protestors appearing to attempt to block a police car.
One climbed onto the vehicle’s roof while others sat on a zebra crossing where officers had formed a line outside the privately-run jail.
Zuhrah, 20, is on day 46 of the hunger strike as she awaits trial over her alleged involvement in a Palestine Action raid on a plant owned by Elbit Systems, a UK subsidiary of an Israeli defence firm.
Her case has been taken up by the Coventry South MP who was among around 100 supporters outside the prison in Surrey, today.
The protestors showed their support by wearing kefir scarfs and raising three big Palestine flags, with chants including ‘shame on you’ when prison staff come out from their shifts. They are supporting the prisoners in what is thought to be the biggest hunger strike since 1981.
Before an ambulance arrived at the jail in Ashfield to transfer Zuhrah to hospital, the MP called on the Justice Secretary to intervene, claiming the prisoner’s death would be on his hands.
Zuhrah was arrested in a dawn raid on November 19, 2024, by counter-terrorism officers in the third wave of arrests in connection with the August 2024 raid on the Elbit Systems plant in Filton, Bristol.
Amu Gib, Heba Muraisi, Jon Cink, Teuta Hoxha and Kamran Ahmed have also been on hunger strike for more than a month.
All are denied bail after their alleged involvement in the Palestine Action raids on the arms factory owned by Elbit, Israel’s largest manufacturer for weapons, and RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
Zuhrah is no longer able to stand and requires urgent medical attention, according to her supporters.
Ms Sultana arrived outside the jail at 1.20am today, demanding that the prisoner be taken to hospital.
The MP said ‘we’re not going anywhere’ until the jail accepts an ambulance transfer ‘for Qesser to get the emergency healthcare she urgently needs.’
In another Facebook post, Ms Zultana said: ‘Let the ambulance into HMP Bronzefield now, @david.lammy
‘Otherwise Qesser Zuhrah is going to die.’
