A total of 24 have been arrested and charged, and a trial of the first six is now under way<\/a>, but the other 18 are still being held on remand in prison more than 16 months later.<\/p>\n A number of the Filton 24 began a hunger strike in prison at the start of November, including Qesser Zuhrah, 20, from London, in protest at their continued imprisonment without trial. After day 46, with her health failing, supporters, family and friends said she needs medical attention.<\/p>\n On Wednesday morning, a group of protesters gathered outside Bristol Crown Court to highlight her case.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are demanding justice for Qesser. Sshe\u2019s one of eight people engaged in a hunger strike to protest for five key demands, which include the right to a fair trial, an end to prison censorship, the right to bail which hasn\u2019t been granted, and also de-proscription and the shutting down of Elbit Systems and the ending of the Government contracts that it holds with Elbit Systems, the Israeli arms manufacturer,\u201d said one supporter outside court.<\/p>\n \u201cTessa has been unresponsive and has asked for medical care since yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) but has been left on her own and is unable to get up and leave her cell. She\u2019s at very serious risk of cardiac arrest, on Day 46 of her hunger strike,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Supporters of the hunger strikers had been gathering all week outside the prison where they are being held, including MP Zarah Sultana, with some calling ambulances to attend to those in need of medical attention, which the prison authorities wouldn\u2019t let into the jail.<\/p>\n \u201cQesser and the other hunger strikers are currently on remand, which means they haven\u2019t been convicted of any crime. They are in prison for allegedly taking action against the genocide in Palestine and arms manufacturers like Elbit Systems.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing on remand means not being convicted of any crime and it means they will be in prison for up to two years before their case will be heard by a judge or a jury. Prisoners are usually released after 180 days if they are on remand, but Qesser has been in prison now for over a year,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Qesser is one of two prisoners on hunger strike at HMP Bronzefield for the past 46 days, along with fellow Filton 24 defendant Amy Gardiner-Gibson.<\/p>\n That is the same length of time on hunger strike as IRA prisoner Martin Hurson, who died 46 days into his hunger strike in 1982. The other prisoners taking part are Heba Muraisi (day 44), Teuta Hoxha (day 38), Kamran Ahmed (day 37) and Lewie Chiaramello (day 12), who has diabetes.<\/p>\n Former Labour<\/a> leader Jeremy Corbyn MP raised the situation regarding the hunger strikers with the Prime Minister on Wednesday lunchtime.<\/p>\n After the protest at Bristol Crown Court, prison authorities relented and Qesser Zuhrah was taken to hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cAll prisoners have full access to healthcare, including attendance at external medical facilities if needed,\u201d a spokesperson for HMP Bronzefield said.<\/p>\n \u201cAny prisoner refusing food receives regular medical assessment and support from clinicians, as well as being offered mental health support.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Former Royal advisor Sir Jonathon Porritt arrested at Bristol protest<\/a>READ MORE: Palestine Action targeted Bristol-based businesses more than 20 times<\/a><\/p>\n The spokesperson said prisoners were managed in line with policies and procedures governing the entire UK prison estate, including assessment of individual risks and security status, and that they could raise specific complaints directly with the prison.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice told The Guardian: \u201cPrisoners\u2019 wellbeing is continually assessed, and appropriate action is taken, including hospital treatment where required.<\/p>\n \u201cHis Majesty\u2019s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has assured ministers that all cases of prisoner food refusal are being managed in accordance with the relevant policy, and with appropriate medical assessment and support \u2013 consistent with prisoner rights,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One held in prison has been on hunger strike for 47 days One of the 24 people charged…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":640537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,748,30,188,393,10300,4884,837,1815,528,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-640536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-courts","11":"tag-crime","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-filton","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-israel","16":"tag-israel-hamas-war","17":"tag-labour-party","18":"tag-politics","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115741502733099486","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=640536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/640537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=640536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=640536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=640536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_TCBR181225hungerstrikeprotestBRIjpeg.jpg\")
Protesters outside Bristol Crown Court on Wednesday, December 17, 2025 highlighting the case of Qesser Zuhrah, on Day 46 of her hunger strike while on remand in prison as one of the ‘Filton 24′(Image: Bristol Post)<\/p>\n