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‘Keffiyehs seized, left to die’: Inside the Palestine Action hunger strike
London, United Kingdom – A month after being released on bail, pro-Palestine activists who participated in a months-long hunger strike in prison are planning on taking legal action over their alleged mistreatment.
On Wednesday, at a news conference where four of the activists spoke about life in jail and their lasting medical conditions, Lisa Minerva Luxx, a campaigner who supports the group, said the defendants are “seeking to take legal action against the prisons for their medical neglect”, adding, “legal action is due to take place”.
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Eight young activists linked to the protest group Palestine Action began a rolling hunger strike in November that lasted until January.
Qesser Zuhrah, 21, Teuta Hoxha, 30, Kamran Ahmed, 28, and 31-year-old Heba Muraisi were bailed in February after the High Court ruled that the proscription of Palestine Action was unlawful. They had been held on remand for 15 months in connection with a raid on the Elbit Systems UK factory in Filton, near Bristol, on August 6, 2024.
‘My hair is falling out in chunks’
Heba Muraisi, who refused food for 73 days, told Al Jazeera she is still suffering from “neurological issues”.
“My hair is still falling out in chunks, I can’t walk long distances without needing to take a break. Physically and mentally, I’m still recovering. I’m still not there yet,” she said.
She told the news conference that the treatment she faced in prison “only got worse” when the government proscribed Palestine Action as a “terror” group in July 2025.
Muraisi said she was physically assaulted to the point that the “wind was thrown out of me”, was regularly placed in solitary confinement, and had her keffiyeh confiscated – so she instead used a pillowcase as a headscarf while praying.
During her detention, Muraisi was transferred to a jail in northern England, much further from Bronzefield prison near her loved ones.
Prison authorities “refused to tell me where I was going,” she said. “My mother, who is unwell, couldn’t visit for five months.”
She claimed that she was not provided with electrolytes during her hunger strike “and only received vitamins after 30 days”.
‘A calculated regime of isolation’
Others, held at different prisons, spoke of similar patterns of alleged mistreatment.
Through tears and wearing a grey sweatsuit that resembled her prison gear – and that of Palestinians detained by Israel – Qesser Zuhrah said, “I was 19 when I was kidnapped from my home by counterterrorism police in a very violent raid.”
“For the entirety of my imprisonment, I was subject to a calculated regime of isolation, blocked from making any friends, especially other young people and Muslims,” she said. “One Muslim woman I met [was told by a guard that] there are dangerous people here and that she needs to be moved away from me.”
Zuhrah added that “multiple periods of prolonged confinement and isolation in my cell without reason” made her feel “like a ghost of myself”.
She said that one day, after two prisoners had died in a week, she asked the guards to unlock the cell of a claustrophobic inmate who was suffering from suicidal thoughts.
“They responded by assaulting me,” she said. “Female guards grabbed my arms, exposed my body, dragged me through the landing and up a metal staircase, and threw me into my cell against the metal bed frame.”
Zuhrah refused food for almost 50 days as part of the hunger strike, pushing her body to the limits. Like the other activists, she was hospitalised during this period.
“Our prisons mistreated us in the most elaborate ways, in order to teach us that our bodies don’t belong to us,” she said, claiming that she was also denied electrolytes and received vitamins after only 30 days.
Guards “tried to tempt me with food”, she said, alleging “cruel tactics” that impacted her health.
“On the 45th or 46th day, they left me paralysed with muscle wastage on my cell floor for 22 hours,” she alleged. “They left me to die on my cell floor, or at least let me believe that they would [leave me].”
‘I still bear the marks of the cuffs’
Kamran Ahmed, who refused food for 66 days, said he still suffers from chest pains and breathlessness.
He said that after being admitted to hospital, he was handcuffed to an officer while showering; the use of cuffs is usually restricted for people who are likely to escape or commit violence.
“I was chained so tight that even today I still bear the marks of the cuffs,” he said.
He also said he was made to walk without shoes during his detention.
“When I had to use the public toilet, with only socks, I had to dodge stains of urine and faeces,” he said.
Teuta Hoxha, who underwent two hunger strikes whilst on remand for 15 months, said that during the second protest, she lost 20 percent of her body weight “and was defecating my muscle mass in hospital whilst chained to an officer like a dog”.
She claimed, “I witnessed guards threaten other prisoners with 14 years for saying ‘free Palestine’.
“When I raised this incident with the prison’s regional ‘counterterrorism’ lead, a meeting I secured through the hunger strike, he used the analogy of a neo-Nazi fascist symbol to compare the two.”
She added that other prisoners were warned not to associate with us “because we were deemed to be terrorists”.
But ultimately, Hoxha said, “the British state failed to disappear our resistance”.
The group called off their hunger strike, claiming victory after the UK reportedly denied a military training contract to Elbit Systems UK, instead choosing Raytheon UK, the subsidiary of the US defence firm, which also has several deals with the Israeli military.
Known as part of the “Filton 24”, the detainees denied the charges against them, such as burglary and criminal damage. Twenty-three members of the collective have been bailed. Only Samuel Corner, who faced an additional charge of allegedly assaulting a police sergeant, remains in prison.
Four other hunger strikers remain in prison, accused of involvement in a break-in at a Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Oxfordshire.
Both incidents were claimed by Palestine Action.
The Home Office has been granted permission to appeal the High Court’s decision on Palestine Action. An April date has reportedly been set for the appeal.
Al Jazeera has contacted the Ministry of Justice for a response. Throughout their hunger strike, the ministry denied that the prisoners were being mistreated.
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The official additionally stated that Iran has reviewed a US 15-point proposal for ending the ongoing war in the Middle East and deemed it “one-sided and unfair,” serving only US and Israeli interests, and lacking “the minimum requirements for success.”
“In brief, the proposal suggests that Iran would relinquish its ability to defend itself in exchange for a vague plan to lift sanctions,” he told Reuters.
No arrangement for negotiations has been established yet, the official continued, adding that Turkey and Pakistan are attempting to “establish common ground between Iran and the United States and reduce differences.”
The proposal, which was conveyed to Iran through Pakistan, “was reviewed in detail on Wednesday night by senior Iranian officials and the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader,” the official said.
On Wednesday, Iranian regime-tied Press TV cited an Iranian official as stating that Tehran considered the conditions of the proposal excessive and would only agree to end the war at a time of its choosing if its conditions are met.
According to an N12 News report on Tuesday, citing three sources familiar with the details of the potential plan, the US was considering declaring a month-long ceasefire during which negotiations on the agreement would take place.
The 15-point plan reportedly contained terms including the dismantling of all existing Iranian nuclear capabilities, a commitment that Iran will discontinue efforts to obtain nuclear weapons, and a requirement that any already enriched uranium be moved out of Iran.
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U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine are being tied to Kyiv ceding the eastern Donbas region to Russia as part of a potential peace deal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Reuters in an interview published Thursday.
“The Americans are prepared to finalize these guarantees at a high level once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas,” Zelenskyy said, describing a proposal he warned could undermine both Ukraine’s defenses and broader European security.
But a U.S. official, speaking on background, told Fox News Digital the claim is false.
Zelenskyy’s comments point to growing pressure from President Donald Trump to reach a swift end to the war, now in its fourth year following Russia’s 2022 invasion.
ZELENSKYY SAYS PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE AFTER TRUMP MEETING BUT TERRITORY REMAINS STICKING POINT
Zelenskyy suggested the administration’s approach is influenced in part by competing global crises, including the ongoing conflict involving Iran.
U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine are being tied to Kyiv ceding the eastern Donbas region to Russia as part of a potential peace deal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. (Pavlo Bahmut/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“The Middle East definitely has an impact on President Trump,” Zelenskyy said. “President Trump, unfortunately, in my opinion, still chooses a strategy of putting more pressure on the Ukrainian side.”
Talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine have taken place in Abu Dhabi and Geneva in 2026, but key issues remain unresolved, including how Ukraine’s future security would be guaranteed and who would fund its long-term defense.
Zelenskyy warned that abandoning Donbas would hand Russia heavily fortified Ukrainian defensive lines, weakening Kyiv’s position and potentially enabling future aggression.
“I would very much like the American side to understand that the eastern part of our country is part of our security guarantees,” he said.
ZELENSKYY CLAIMS TRUMP SAID US WILL CONSIDER GIVING UKRAINE DECADES OF SECURITY GUARANTEES
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that abandoning Donbas would hand Russia heavily fortified Ukrainian defensive lines. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long insisted that full control of Donbas is central to Moscow’s war aims. While Russian forces have made gains, analysts cited by Reuters say progress has been slow, and capturing the remaining territory could take significant time and manpower.
Zelenskyy also warned that Moscow is betting Washington will lose interest if negotiations stall.
“Russia is counting on the fact that the United States will not have the strength or patience to bring this to an end,” he said.
Despite tensions over negotiations, Zelenskyy thanked the Trump administration for continuing deliveries of Patriot missile defense systems, which Ukraine relies on to intercept Russian ballistic missiles.
“Deliveries to us were not stopped. I’m very grateful to President Trump, and to his team,” he said, while adding that supplies remain insufficient.
In parallel with the diplomatic push, Zelenskyy signaled a broader strategy to expand Ukraine’s role as a security provider, particularly in the Middle East, where countries are seeking solutions to large-scale drone and missile threats.
UKRAINE PEACE TALKS PRODUCTIVE AS EX-GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SAYS COUNTRY RETHINKING ‘UNCOMPROMISING’ STANCE
A cemetery worker prepares a burial vault at military cemetery outside of the city of Dnipro, Ukraine, May 25, 2023. (Seth Herald/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“The United States has reached out to us regarding their bases in Middle Eastern countries,” Zelenskyy wrote on X Thursday, adding that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait have also approached Ukraine.
He said Ukrainian teams are already on the ground sharing operational experience, particularly in countering mass drone attacks.
“No matter how many Patriots, THAADs, or other air defense systems are in the Middle East, that alone is not enough,” he wrote. “There are modern interceptors designed to counter heavy drone strikes.”
Zelenskyy also indicated Ukraine is exploring defense trade arrangements, offering to sell surplus systems and expertise while seeking access to air defense missiles it currently lacks.
“Funding is the scarcest resource today,” he wrote, noting Ukraine’s defense industry is operating at roughly half capacity and needs additional financing to scale drone production.
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Ukraine is exploring defense trade arrangements, the country’s president said. (Iryna Rybakova/Press Service of the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters)
In separate posts tied to an address at a Joint Expeditionary Force summit, Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine’s battlefield experience could play a broader role in European and global security.
“We have this experience. … Let’s bring all of this together even more,” he wrote, calling for deeper cooperation with European partners and warning that the continent must build its own capacity to produce air defense systems rather than rely on external suppliers.
Reuters contributed to this story.
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