Palestine Action hunger striker Heba Muraisi has gone 65 days without food and says her health is rapidly deteriorating while she remains in custody.
In an exclusive interview with Metro, Muraisi said she is ‘dying’ in her cell and ‘struggling to breathe’ as her hunger strike continues.
The 31-year-old told the outlet: “As each day passes I get weaker, aches worsen, headaches are frequent and concentrating is extremely difficult.
“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 Metro, Muraisi’s condition has worsened in recent weeks, with the hunger striker reporting increasing physical weakness and exhaustion.
Muraisi is currently awaiting trial over her alleged involvement in the break-in of a facility owned by Elbit Systems, a UK subsidiary of an Israeli defence firm.
She was arrested following a dawn raid on 19 November 2024.
Speaking to Metro, Muraisi also raised concerns about her treatment in custody and restrictions on communication with supporters and professionals.
“Prison is prison. It’s the same oppressive system under the false pretence that it is rehabilitation,” she said. “Here I’ve been heavily restricted and monitored, visitors not being approved, phone numbers being rejected including doctors, emails getting blocked, my legal team has been ignored.”
She also alleged that she had been threatened with forced relocation during her hunger strike.
“On day 45 of my hunger strike I was threatened to be forcefully moved by a custodial manager in the presence of a senior officer,” she said. “I was moved away from my support system I had built, and the only friend I had made on this new wing was recently just moved.”
Muraisi is part of a wider hunger strike involving fellow protesters Teuta Hoxha, Kamran Ahmed and Lewie Chiaramello. Others, including Umer Khalid, Qesser Zuhrah, Amu Gib and Jon Cink, have reportedly paused their hunger strike.
The group’s stated demands include an end to what they describe as censorship of communication in custody, immediate bail, the right to a fair trial, the de-proscription of Palestine Action, and the closure of Elbit facilities.
As Muraisi approaches day 66 of her hunger strike, comparisons have been drawn with Irish republican Bobby Sands, who died after 66 days without food during the 1981 Maze Prison hunger strike.
Sands was the first of ten men to die during the protest, which became a defining moment in The Troubles.