On 25 September, Ian Roberts began a thirst and hunger strike in HMP Wandsworth after being sent to solitary confinement.

Roberts, 51, was arrested in April 2026, accused of causing £2.4m damage to the electronics firm Keysight Technologies in Hampshire. He asserts that Keysight Technologies supplies radar and electronic systems for Elbit Systems to produce weaponised drones used in Gaza.

Roberts and his co-defendants Steven Davies, 57, and Dolores Gnapi, 34, are on remand until trial in July 2027. This is well beyond the standard six-month pre-trial detention limit. Upon his imprisonment, prison authorities designated Roberts as a high risk prisoner. This has often been the case for others in prison for Palestinian solidarity actions.

Amidst chronic overcrowding, Roberts was stripped of his high risk designation and has been forced to cell share against health recommendations and safety concerns from the prison governor Andrew Davy.

In a meeting with Roberts, the governor admitted his high risk designation should never have been removed. The prison’s inability to safeguard Roberts has resulted in him being segregated for the sixth time, for a period of 21 days.

His loved ones received a recorded message from Roberts yesterday afternoon informing them he was refusing drink and food in protest. None of his family or friends have heard from him since.

The prison has refused to inform his next of kin, Susannah Clay, about whether he is medically stable. Roberts’ close friend Kim Taylor said:

I am so grateful to know such an incredible human being. I know the prison has not been meeting Ian’s needs as a high risk prisoner which has quite frankly made me incredibly frustrated… to know his mental health is getting worse makes me wish I had a magic wand to stop the pain he must be feeling right now.

This is the sixth time now he is being put in segregation, and for what? Standing up for himself and his basic rights? Seriously, there are no words. Just rage. Rage not only at the prison, but so-called politicians across the UK and the world for being bystanders, for being complicit in the slaughter of innocent lives.

We can’t let Ian’s health suffer because of the elite’s negligence. Whether it’s in Birmingham or London, Ian Roberts will always be in the spotlight, not only as a big brother to me, but as an absolute legend.

Thirst strike is a dangerous undertaking. In late January of this year the Palestine Action prisoner Umer Khalid was hospitalised due to concerns about multiple organ failure after three days of a thirst strike. A protest was organised outside HMP Wandsworth on Sunday 27 September.

Featured image supplied

By The Canary

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