Coventry South MP protests in support of hunger strike prisoner...

Zarah Sultana said she would not leave the prison site until an ambulance was allowed in



An MP has staged a protest outside a prison demanding urgent medical care for a hunger striker there.

Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana said Qesser Zuhrah was "critically ill" with an "immediate" risk of dying after refusing food for 46 days.

Ms Zuhrah is on remand at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey, awaiting trial over a break-in at an Israeli defence firm near Bristol by the proscribed Palestine Action group.

Posting on X, Sultana called for an ambulance to be allowed into the prison. Later on Wednesday, the MP and other protestors confirmed Ms Zuhrah was transferred to hospital.

The government proscribed Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act in July, making membership of or support for the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

The then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to ban the group on 23 June, saying that the vandalism of two planes at RAF Brize Norton was "disgraceful" and that the group had a "long history of unacceptable criminal damage".

The group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, was granted permission to appeal in July after her lawyers argued the ban breached the right to free speech.

The judge refused an appeal to temporarily lift the ban and it remains proscribed, with High Court judges expected to rule within weeks on the lawfulness of the ban.

Posting on X on Tuesday evening, Sultana wrote: "I am urgently on my way to HMP Bronzefield.

"Palestine hunger striker Qesser Zuhrah, now on day 46, is being refused an ambulance by the prison.

"She is critically ill and at immediate risk of dying. I have contacted [Justice Secretary] David Lammy and [Health Secretary] Wes Streeting and received no response."

Protesters later said Ms Zuhrah had since been taken to hospital, with footage shared on X by campaign group Defend Our Juries showing an ambulance leaving the site.

Green Party peer Baroness Jenny Jones said she was assured Ms Zuhrah had been taken to hospital before she left the protest.

"The protesters were all ages, all colours but very united and working well," she added.

Sultana also confirmed on X shortly after 20:00 GMT that Ms Zuhrah had been transferred to hospital.

South East Coast Ambulance Service confirmed it attended the prison on Wednesday but would not give any further detail.