Umer Khalid is the last remaining hunger striker to participate in the Prisoners for Palestine hunger strike campaign. The 22-year-old who suffers from a rare genetic disorder, Limb-Girdle Muscular
Dystrophy, is currently on remand at HMP Wormwood Scrubs.

The last hunger striker

Khalid is now on day ten of his hunger strike. He resumed, after a short pause, on 10 January. He has warned he’ll undertake a thirst strike if the government continues to refuse a meeting within the next four days.

Khalid, who is from Manchester, faces charges in connection to an action that took place at the RAF Brize Norton site. Two military aircraft were allegedly decommissioned causing millions of pounds worth of damage.

It was after this action took place that the then home secretary Yvette Cooper made the controversial decision to proscribe Palestine Action in the UK, making support for it a terrorist offence.

Significantly, Khalid has suffered severe mistreatment at the hands of the prison since the start of his detention in July 2025 last year. The fact that he suffers from Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy severely increases the risks associated with his hunger strike action.

He was initially on hunger strike for 12 days before becoming seriously unwell and unable to walk. He has now stated that he intends to go on a thirst strike if his demands are not met. Khalid has also asked prison staff not to intervene in the event he becomes unconscious.

The demands of the hunger strike remain:

• 1. End all censorship of communications to the prisoners.
• 2. Immediate bail.
• 3. Right to a fair trial, with access to all relevant documents.
• 4. Deproscribe Palestine Action.
• 5. Shut down Israeli arms company Elbit Systems in the UK.

Prisoners for Palestine has documented that:

Umer has continuously been subjected to violent abuse by the prison, namely the abuse and denial of his religious and welfare rights. He was initially barred from showering or using a prayer mat to perform his prayers and denied access to a Quran which the prison permitted only after public outrage.

Denial of his religious rights has continued, however, with prison officers physically assaulting him, putting him in solitary confinement, cutting off his clothes and strip searching him for giving the call to prayer. His calls, visits and access to post are also severely restricted and monitored.

In a statement, a friend of Khalid expressed:

It terrifies me that the government has been so incredibly negligent during this hunger strike, proving on multiple occasions that the health of the prisoners is not something that concerns them enough to act on their responsibilities or simply just meet the demands.

But an even scarier notion is processing the fact that someone you love and care for so deeply feels as though they have no other options left, in what should be an unnecessary battle for basic
rights and dignity. That the repression is so strong, that this is their only avenue of resistance left.

And when you pair that with a person as determined, brave, and resilient as we all know Umer is, as loyal in his love for the Palestinians as he is to his family and friends, I just really pray that the government realise how despicable they are and start to enter some form of negotiation soon, insha’Allah.

I am so incredibly proud of Umer, we all are, and we miss him.

Featured image via Prisoners for Palestine

By The Canary

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