A Palestine Action protester on hunger strike has warned that she is “dying” in her prison cell as her protest enters its 65th day, raising urgent concerns about her health and the wider handling of remand prisoners in politically sensitive cases.
Heba Muraisi, 31, says her condition is rapidly deteriorating while she remains in custody awaiting trial, with supporters and MPs accusing the Government of inaction as the strike approaches a length comparable to the 1981 Bobby Sands protest.
🚨 Health fears as hunger strike reaches critical stage
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Metro, Muraisi said she is struggling to breathe, suffering dizziness and severe weakness, and is finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate.
“As each day passes I get weaker, aches worsen, headaches are frequent and concentrating is extremely difficult,” she said. “My body shakes, I get dizzy to the point of nausea and now breathing is getting hard. I am deteriorating in this cell. I am dying.”
According to the outlet, Muraisi recorded her responses over several days due to exhaustion and cognitive difficulty, underscoring the seriousness of her condition as she approaches day 66 without food.
🏛️ Arrest, charges and prolonged remand
Muraisi was arrested in a dawn raid on 19 November 2024 following her alleged involvement in a break-in at a research and development facility owned by Elbit Systems, a UK subsidiary of an Israeli defence firm, near Filton in Bristol.
She is currently held on remand at HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire and is not due to stand trial until June, meaning she could spend close to two years in custody before her case is heard.
She has now been detained for more than 400 days without conviction, a point repeatedly raised by campaigners and civil liberties groups as part of broader concerns over pre-trial detention.
🔒 Allegations of restricted communication and isolation
Muraisi has also raised serious concerns about her treatment while in custody, alleging heavy monitoring, blocked communications and isolation from her support network.
“Visitors not being approved, phone numbers being rejected including doctors, emails getting blocked, my legal team has been ignored,” she said.
She further alleged that during her hunger strike she was threatened with forced relocation by prison staff and subsequently moved away from people she relied on for emotional support.
Muraisi says she has been transferred nearly 188 miles away from her family in north London, making regular visits difficult, and claims the temporary suspension of her phone access caused significant distress to her mother.
✊ Wider hunger strike and political response
Muraisi is one of several protesters taking part in what supporters describe as the largest hunger strike in the British Isles since 1981.
Fellow detainees Teuta Hoxha, Kamran Ahmed and Lewie Chiaramello continue to strike, while others – including Amu Gib, Jon Cink, Umer Khalid and Qesser Zuhrah – have paused their participation.
The group’s demands include immediate bail for remand prisoners, the right to a fair trial, unrestricted communication in custody, the de-proscription of Palestine Action and the closure of Elbit facilities.
Your Party MP Zarah Sultana has publicly condemned the Government’s handling of the situation, warning that lives are now at imminent risk.
“Let there be no ambiguity,” she wrote on social media. “If Heba or Kamran die, that blood is on the hands of this Labour government.”
⚖️ Government and prison service response
The Ministry of Justice has rejected claims of neglect or obstruction of healthcare, stressing that hunger strikes are managed under established procedures.
Lord Timpson, the prisons minister, said hunger strikes remain “very concerning” but are not uncommon, with more than 200 recorded annually over the past five years.
“Prison healthcare teams provide NHS care and continuously monitor the situation,” he said, adding that claims hospital treatment was being refused were “entirely misleading”.
Practice Plus Group, which manages healthcare services at HMP New Hall on behalf of the NHS, said it provides “compassionate, evidence-based care” and follows all relevant protocols when prisoners refuse food.
Ministers have also declined to meet the detainees or their lawyers, citing the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary.
“It would be entirely unconstitutional and inappropriate for ministers to intervene in ongoing legal cases,” Lord Timpson said.
⚠️ Comparisons with Bobby Sands as pressure mounts
As Muraisi approaches day 66 without food, comparisons have been drawn with Irish republican Bobby Sands, who died after 66 days on hunger strike in 1981 while held at the Maze Prison.
Ten prisoners ultimately died during that protest, which became a defining moment in modern British and Irish political history.
Campaigners warn that allowing a similar outcome in a British prison more than four decades later would represent a grave moral and political failure.
For now, Muraisi says fear and determination exist side by side.
“I’m terrified – I’d be stupid not to be,” she said. “But it’s the love and solidarity from people, and my mum’s prayers, that give me strength.”
4 responses to “‘I am dying in this cell’: Hunger striker hits day 65 as pressure mounts on ministers”
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If she is that week then how is she able to have visitors whilst being detained.
She can only have visitors on her request list and at certain times.
Yes she may ave phone calls but then does the informant really know who they are speaking to. -
Not a hunger strike, if they are eating every other day! its called look at me and bend to my will. I have absolutely no sympathy or empathy and just wish the plod would arrest them all so they can keep each other comapny
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I’m so happy for her that she’s having this wonderful experience. I hope she achieves her final goal.
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I have no sympathy with the Pally’s.
BUT, this is, and always was political, no different to what Starmer & Hermer have done with Robinson. The we see rapists getting bail granted, unheard of.
Something very wrong here.
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