- A Palestine Action activist has now been on hunger strike for two weeks continuously, after being arrested on the 15th June and remanded to prison on the 17th June, following involvement in the occupation of the Arconic factory in Kitts Green, Birmingham.
- The occupation of the Arconic site occured on the 4th anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, undertaken against Arconic due to their central role both in this fire and in the manufacture of military vehicles for the Israeli military.
- Yesterday, Birmingham Crown Court denied bail once again, prolonging their risk to health and further depriving liberty for their conscientious protest.
- The hunger strike will continue until at least one of the four demands are met, which are listed below.
- After two weeks, people on a hunger strike may have difficulty standing; they can also suffer from severe dizziness, sluggishness, weakness, loss of coordination, low heart rate and a chilled feeling.
A Palestine Action activist, named Yogi Bear, has now reached past the two week point of a continuous hunger strike following their detention for the conscientious occupation of the Arconic factory in Kitts Green, Birmingham. The hunger strike will continue until one or more of the four demands, which relate to Israeli war crimes committed with British made armaments and technologies of warfare, are met. These demands are:
1. Immediate release of Palestine Action prisoners. (This condition must be met)
2. Lasalle Investment Management evict Elbit Systems from 77 Kingsway London
3. The British Government to release all correspondence and/ or documents between the government or any arm of the state (Police Force, MOD, Border Force, or any other government department) and Elbit Systems or any of their subsidaries
4. Elbit Systems, Arconic, and all arms manufacturers supplying Israel to shut down UK operations
Until any one or all four of these demands are met, the hunger strike will continue. Having denied bail or the release of Yogi, the courts have decided to prolong this hunger strike – risking the health of an individual whose decisions have been taken solely in solidarity with the victims of global injustice, against the perpetrators and profiteers of this injustice. Yogi has undertaken many previous actions to protest ongoing crimes committed by the UK Government and UK-based corporations. These include against arms manufacturers such as Arconic as well as contributors to climate injustice – with Yogi being the last protestor to leave the protest tunnel under Euston in protest of HS2.
The hunger strike began following Yogi’s arrest and remand to prison by Birmingham Magistrates Court, now being detained in HMP Folston Hall. They are refusing all food, risking their health in order to further protest ongoing UK complicity in crimes against humanity. After two weeks, people on a hunger strike may have difficulty standing; they can also suffer from severe dizziness, sluggishness, weakness, loss of coordination, low heart rate and a chilled feeling. Low levels of thiamine (vitamin B1) become a real risk after two or three weeks and can result in severe neurological problems, including cognitive impairment, vision loss and lack of motor skills.
The action taken on the 14th June 2021, at the Arconic site in Birmingham, was undertaken to disrupt Arconic operations on the 4th anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire. Arconic are the manufacturers of the highly flammable cladding which expert examination concluded contributed to the severity of the blaze, which ultimately claimed 72 lives. Arconic executives have admitted to knowing that the product was unsafe, selling it despite this knowledge. Arconic also manufacture sheet metal and materials for F35 fighter jets and Apache helicopters, both of which are employed extensively by the Israeli military for the bombardments of Gaza.
A Palestine Action representative has stated the following:
“The denial of bail to Yogi, who has been hunger striking for two weeks at this point, is another despicable act by the police, courts, and state to coerce and control those standing up to the forces of global injustice. Yogi’s action prevented the operations of a firm which has a proven culpability in both the corporate manslaughter of 72 people in Grenfell Tower and the massacre of innumerable Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The deprivation of their liberty and the risk to their health that the state are enforcing shows that their priority is not stopping crime and injustice, but punishing those who oppose crime and injustice.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Photo Credit to Mark Kerrison
If you would like any further information on this action or on Palestine action, please contact media@palestineaction.org or our press line at 07840150925
Palestine Action
Palestine Action is a direct-action network of groups and individuals formed with the mandate of taking direct action against firms complicit in the ongoing repression of Palestinians. Palestine Action use direct action shut down manufactuing hubs for these companies, halt their operations, and are calling for the British government to end its complicity in Israeli apartheid.
Information on the effects of hunger strikes
What Happens on a Hunger Strike | Fasting | Live Science
Arconic
Arconic’s involvement in supplying the Israeli military: https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2018/12/10/the-grenfell-cladding-company-is-also-profiting-from-arms-sales/
Arconic executive admits knowledge of unsafe cladding before sales: https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2018/12/10/the-grenfell-cladding-company-is-also-profiting-from-arms-sales/
Coverage of the Arconic occupation:
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/protest-shuts-down-grenfell-firms-factory
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-uk-arconic-activists-storm-factory
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/palestine-protesters-roof-arconic-site-20808743
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