Teuta Hoxha Ends Hunger Strike After 60 Days Due to Health Concerns

Activist Teuta Hoxha in Critical Condition

Pro-Palestinian activist Teuta Hoxha has suspended her hunger strike in the United Kingdom after more than two months without food, demanding her immediate release on bail and the right to a fair trial. The group Prisoners For Palestine announced on Instagram on Monday that Hoxha is in critical condition and requires hospitalization. They claim that the 29-year-old has been denied adequate treatment by prison authorities.

Health Concerns

Hoxha "urgently needs medical care in the hospital to prevent refeeding syndrome. The prison is denying her necessary medical treatment, which is crucial to avoid death in extreme cases of starvation." Refeeding syndrome, a potentially fatal condition, occurs when nutrition is resumed too quickly in a person who has been starved.

Context of the Protest

For the past 63 days, members of Palestine Action have been on hunger strikes in prisons across the UK after being arrested for involvement in thefts at subsidiaries of the Israeli company Elbit Systems in Filton, near Bristol, in 2024. Some members of Palestine Action are also being held for alleged theft at a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire, where two military planes were splashed with red paint.

Controversial Classification

In July, the UK government voted to classify Palestine Action as a "terrorist" organization, placing it in the same category as armed groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). Over 1,600 people have been arrested in connection with supporting Palestine Action after nearly weekly protests for the repeal of the ban. The classification is currently being challenged in court.

Unmet Demands

Activists on hunger strike have made five demands: immediate release on bail, the right to a fair trial, an end to the censorship of their communications, the "de-proscription" of Palestine Action, and the closure of Elbit Systems factories in the UK. Those who continue the hunger strike include Heba Muraisi, 31, and Kamran Ahmed, 28. Lewie Chiaramello, 22, is refusing food every other day due to diabetes.