Umer Khalid ends hunger strike over severe concerns for his health

Political prisoner Umer Khalid has ended his hunger- and thirst-strike as supporters declare victory and express severe concern for his health. A protest has been called for 3pm today outside the Ministry of Justice. It will demand freedom for Khalid and other ‘Filton 24’ prisoners who have been jailed for over a year and a half without trial.

Hunger strike victory

In a Prisoners4Palestine press conference today to announce Khalid’s decision, filmmaker and educator Saeed Taji Farouky said that Khalid had won what he demanded from the authorities – but that his victory went far beyond that:

This was a victory: prison authorities conceded to Umer’s demands. He has met prison governors and there will be a review of the inhumane conditions in which he has been kept. These have included withheld communications, disallowed religious practice and [the refusal of] medical care.

[Khalid’s and other hunger strikers’] greatest achievement is that they have reinvigorated a movement on the streets that I would describe as an uprising. The state thought they could crush dissent and for a few months it seemed they may have been right. But what we have seen with this hunger strike is an upsurge of people’s refusal to accept watching from a distance, a refusal of the government’s complicity in genocide – and a return to direct action against the direct architecture of the genocide itself.

Despite the government’s best efforts, there are every week new movements taking the fight to the weapons manufacturers. The hunger strikers were able to show the people what resistance looks like. [Israeli weapons maker] Elbit Systems lost a huge contract it was bidding for that would have thrown them a lifeline. They have been in serious financial trouble and begged the govt for this lifeline to train soldiers in this country – and they lost it. They have been sanctioned by NATO for severe corruption in their supply chain and they are no longer a trusted supplier in this country.

The hunger strikers have been a fundamental part of the struggle to free Palestine. The Palestinians themselves also see them as integral to the struggle. [A Palestinian freed prisoners’ association said]: “The echo of your uprising has reached us… O revolutionaries of the world, you are not alone”

Press conference held

Labour MP John McDonnell praised the hunger strikers, but somewhat naively was puzzled about why they have been mistreated by the Starmer regime: He praised Khalid for:

the absolute courage and principles he has displayed for peace and justice and for the people of Palestine and [the hunger strikers] been incredibly successful in disrupting weapons manufacturers … The refusal to award contract to Elbit Systems was a huge success.

They’ve also drawn attention to the treatment of political prisoners on remand, I can’t understand why remand has been used in this case. For most people, it’s irrational, unfair and unjust that they’ve been treated in this way. Their treatment while in prison has been unacceptable. They’ve been treated as terrorists when they’re clearly not…

And McDonnell said he and other MPs would be demanding a full inquiry from ‘justice’ secretary David Lammy:

I’d like the Secretary of State to order a full inquiry into the way they’ve been detained and treated and that’s what we’ll be raising in Parliament.

As justice secretary Lammy is personally responsible for the mistreatment and has consistently refused to act. No ‘inquiry’ is needed to establish that, even in the vanishingly unlikely event that he were to order one.

Dr James Smith, a British doctor who has volunteered in Gaza, said that he supported the inquiry call and was deeply critical of the abuse and neglect inflicted on the hunger strikers even in their most serious health crises:

I fully support calls for an inquiry into their treatment in prison and when they have been transferred to hospitals. They have not had access to timely, competent and quality care in line with usual treatment of individuals on hunger strike. There are often questions even about where Umer is. His family members have not been informed when he has been moved.

On Sunday Umer was taken to hospital in the early hours of the morning with concerns about multi-organ failure. Despite this, he has been discharged rather promptly back to prison …. One of the most dangerous periods is when you come off hunger strike and the inadequacy of treatment in prison has been exposed … …There are very limited diagnostic tools in prison for any complications. We’ve had to go to the prisons several times to demand proper action…

…We are calling for comprehensive care and treatment and for him to be immediately moved to hospital. Umer has been treated in a particularly undignified fashion and we are calling for treatment to be dignified as well as medically adequate. It’s clear there is no refeeding plan in place for him and that is unacceptable given his particular medical needs…

…There is no justification for any of this group to be held on remand. Umer has demanded that information be released about UK surveillance flights over Gaza, including when UK aid workers were killed. Umer has put his body on the line to support these demands…

Dr Asim Qureshi, research director for human rights group CAGE, said that Khalid had ended his strike to deny the authorities the “pleasure” of his death. He praised Khalid’s courage and condemned the government’s punishment of political prisoners, who have not been found guilty of any crime, to protect Israel:

Umer has decided he will not allow the authorities, including the prison governor, any pleasure in his death. None of his demands were unreasonable. You will know how courageous he is and how strong his convictions are. He gets on well with other prisoners and with staff. Even while he’s trying to get his rights, he’s someone who is extremely giving. Yet we find that the prison system chooses to treat him in a specific way. We have to remember he is a remand prisoner, he is innocent until proven guilty but the prison system has decided to use process as punishment in a way that is unconscionable.

People like Umer can be treated and punished as if they were guilty. They are treated in inhumane ways … we have a government that is more concerned with impunity for a settler-colonial entity than with doing its job of serving British people.

The rules-based order was already cremated in Gaza, that is the reality of why Umer and others are doing what they do. And the way he has been treated in prison is an extension of that logic. There is still a genocide and apartheid regime in place and UK institutions are involved in maintaining it. It should not be expected that [the hunger strikers] will not again put their bodies on the line for the Palestinian people. They are the moral compass of this movement and we will continue to support them in their resistance.

…We should be pushing for compassionate bail for their recovery. None of the hunger strikers have ever posed a threat to anyone.

Prisoners4Palestine will be holding a demonstration outside the Ministry of Justice in London from 3pm today to demand an end to the abuse and political imprisonment of the hunger strikers and their colleagues.

Featured image via the Canary