Labour shamefully deny hunger strikers medical attention
Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman has called on the UK Labour Government to allow the imprisoned activist Qesser Zuhrah, who has been on hunger strike in HMP Bronzefield for 46 days, to receive medical care.
Qesser and other imprisoned activists have been held without a trial or the offer of bail, with four being on remand for over a year. Due to this lack of access to justice, they feel they have no other option but to protest against their conditions by undertaking a hunger strike.
In recent days, friends and family have reported that Qesser’s health has deteriorated, but she has been denied urgent medical attention by the prison. It is said that she is having chest pains from her neck to her shoulder, shortness of breath, dizziness and shaking limbs.
Last week, Scottish Greens lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament expressing deep concern for the well-being of the hunger strikers and calling for urgent action for a fair trial, which has been signed by MSPs from across parliament, including former First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf.
Maggie Chapman said:
“HMP Bronzefield must urgently allow medics into the prison to treat Qesser before it’s too late. The appalling denial of medical attention by the prison service and the UK Government will likely have fatal consequences, directly linked to the decision-making of Labour ministers.
“Everyone is entitled to justice, no matter who you are; that is a core principle of any democratic society. Yet this Labour government has denied these activists the right to justice by imprisoning them without an imminent trial or the offer of bail, in some cases for over a year.
“Keir Starmer and David Lammy should be ashamed of how these activists have been treated, and how they have had their human rights denied. There isn’t much time left for Starmer and Lammy to get their act together and let an ambulance into HMP Bronzefield, or else they will have blood on their hands.”