{"id":208925,"date":"2025-12-29T03:21:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T03:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/208925\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T03:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T03:21:08","slug":"un-experts-urge-uk-to-protect-lives-and-rights-of-pro-palestinian-detainees-on-hunger-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/208925\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Experts Urge UK To Protect Lives And Rights Of Pro-Palestinian Detainees On Hunger Strike"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday, 29 December 2025, 1:35 pm
Press Release: UN Special Procedures – Human Rights <\/a><\/p>\n

GENEVA (26 December 2025) \u2013 UN experts* today expressed
\ngrave concern for the lives and fundamental rights of eight
\npro-Palestinian activists imprisoned in the United Kingdom,
\nwho have been on indefinite hunger strike since 2
\nNovember.<\/p>\n

\u201cHunger strike is often a measure of last
\nresort by people who believe that their rights to protest
\nand effective remedy have been exhausted,\u201d the experts
\nsaid.<\/p>\n

As they enter the second month of their strike,
\nthe health of the pro-Palestinian detainees has reportedly
\ndeteriorated significantly, placing them at critical risk of
\nserious complications, including organ failure, irreversible
\nneurological damage, cardiac arrhythmias and
\ndeath.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe State\u2019s duty of care toward hunger
\nstrikers is heightened, not diminished,\u201d the experts said.
\n\u201cAuthorities must ensure timely access to emergency and
\nhospital care when clinically indicated, refrain from
\nactions that may amount to pressure or retaliation, and
\nrespect medical ethics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The expert recalled that
\nrespect for the right to health is applicable to everyone,
\nincluding persons deprived of their liberty. They stressed
\nthat States must respect individual autonomy, ensure
\ncontinuous, independent medical monitoring, provide accurate
\ninformation about health risks, and take all necessary steps
\nto protect life and prevent irreversible harm, without
\nresorting to coercive or punitive measures.<\/p>\n

They also
\nexpressed concerns regarding the treatment of the hunger
\nstrikers, including reported delays in accessing medical
\ncare, use of excessive restraint during hospital treatment,
\ndenial of contact with family members and legal counsel, and
\nlack of consistent independent medical oversight,
\nparticularly for detainees with serious pre-existing health
\nconditions.<\/p>\n

Advertisement – scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n

\u201cThese reports raise serious questions
\nabout compliance with international human rights law and
\nstandards, including obligations to protect life and prevent
\ncruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,\u201d the experts
\nsaid.<\/p>\n

They have previously raised concerns
\nwith the UK Government regarding the application of
\ncounter-terrorism and security frameworks to acts of
\npolitical protest that are not genuinely terrorist according
\nto international standards, and warned
\nagainst the criminalisation of conduct that falls within the
\nprotected exercise of the rights to freedom of assembly,
\nassociation, and expression, and the suppression of
\nlegitimate political dissent, including advocacy related to
\nPalestine.<\/p>\n

The experts have also expressed serious
\nconcern as to the overbreadth
\nof the definition of terrorism under UK law, the proscription
\nof Palestine Action under
\nthe Terrorism Act 2000, and the subsequent mass
\narrests and criminal charges, including
\nterrorism-related offenses, brought against individuals for
\nalleged support for Palestine Action.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese hunger
\nstrikes must be understood within the broader context of
\nrestrictions on pro-Palestinian activism in the UK,\u201d the
\nexperts said, noting that the detainees are held in
\nconnection with protest-related activity.<\/p>\n

They urged
\nthe United Kingdom to immediately guarantee appropriate
\nhealthcare for all hunger strikers, and engage in meaningful
\ndialogue and action to address not only the claims of the
\nprotestors, but also underlying rights violations, and an
\nend to the repression of Palestine
\nactivism.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreventable deaths in custody are never
\nacceptable. The State bears full responsibility for the
\nlives and wellbeing of those it detains,\u201d the experts
\nsaid. \u201cUrgent action is required now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experts
\nstand ready to engage constructively with the UK Government
\nand will continue to monitor the situation
\nclosely.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

*The
\nexperts:<\/p>\n

Gina
\nRomero, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of
\npeaceful assembly and of associationTlaleng
\nMofokeng, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to
\nthe enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical
\nand mental healthCecilia
\nM. Bailliet, the Independent Expert on human rights and
\ninternational solidarityGeorge
\nKatrougalos, the Independent expert on the promotion of a
\ndemocratic and equitable international
\norderBen
\nSaul, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection
\nof human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering
\nterrorismIrene
\nKhan, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection
\nof the right to freedom of opinion and
\nexpressionFrancesca
\nAlbanese, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
\nrights in the Palestinian territory occupied since
\n1967<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Monday, 29 December 2025, 1:35 pmPress Release: UN Special Procedures – Human Rights GENEVA (26 December 2025) \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":208926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,110381,61455,23023,43,38952,40,38,41,39,443,116572,2711,116573],"class_list":["post-208925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-humanitarianism","tag-informative","tag-international-law","tag-news","tag-scoop","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-uk","tag-un-special-procedures-human-rights","tag-world","tag-world-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}