Parents of Palestine Action hunger striker ‘fear the worst’ as son remains on remand Submitted by Areeb Ullah on Tue, 12/23/2025 - 08:59 Parents of Kamran Ahmed, who has been on hunger strike for more than 40 days, have struggled since their son was taken from them Supporters of hunger-striking prisoners attend a press conference in London on 18 December 2025 (Henry Nicholls/AFP) Off Tucking in the white edge of her hijab, Sanwara Begum sits hunched as she fights back tears. When the phone rings, she braces herself. Sometimes it is a lawyer. Sometimes a prison officer. Sometimes it is her son, calling from a prison wing, voice thinning with every day of a hunger strike that has now stretched into weeks. “I just want him home,” says Begum, as she sits distraught and worried next to her husband. “Why [doesn't the government] let him come home?” For the last seven months, Begum’s son, Kamran Ahmed, has been held on remand after he was arrested for allegedly breaking into an Israeli arms factory. He is due to stand trial in June 2026, facing charges of criminal damage, aggravated burglary and violent disorder. Ahmed denies the charges. But Ahmed made headlines when he began a hunger strike alongside seven other prisoners affiliated with the direct-action group Palestine Action, who are accused of similar crimes. The 28-year-old mechanic has been on remand awaiting trial at HMP Pentonville in north London, meaning he has been imprisoned without a conviction until his court date next June. In Britain , the legal limit to hold a prisoner on remand is typically six months, but Ahmed has been imprisoned without trial for nearly a year. Families of Palestine Action hunger strikers in hospital 'blocked' from contacting them Read More » The activist’s demands include immediate bail, an end to prison interference with their personal communications, and the lifting of the ban on Palestine Action. But more than 40 days into his hunger strike, Ahmed’s family say they fear the worst as his condition worsens by the day. Ahmed has been hospitalised three times since beginning his hunger strike. His sister, Shahmina Alam, says he has been suffering from intense chest pains and tremors, likening them to being tasered. Alam adds that HMP Pentonville refrained from telling her that Ahmed was being hospitalised and that the prison had blocked all his phone numbers from the prison phone system, preventing him from telling his next of kin that he was being taken to hospital. His weight has also dropped from 74kg to 60.1kg, losing half a kilo everyday, with his ketone levels - which indicate blood acidity - remaining “dangerously” high. But the family’s fear deepens further when Ahmed is taken to the hospital. “We stop receiving updates. The hospitals go straight to the prison, not us,” says Alam. “Meaning if he turns for the worse or dies, we won’t hear it first. The prison will.” Alam’s concerns are shared by other families, whose loved ones are on hunger strike. James Smith, an emergency doctor who has been providing advice and support to the hunger strikers and their families, says that the lack of communication by prisons during the strikers’ hospitalisation flies in the face of standard protocol. “If a prisoner is admitted to hospital and there is a concern that they may be severely unwell or that they have suffered a severe injury, then the prison service should update the next of kin that they have been admitted to hospital and update them with respect to their clinical state. And that’s very well established in accepted guidance,” Smith tells MEE . Little contact The family tries to speak to Ahmed weekly. He mostly speaks with his sister, who then passes the phone to his mother. Alam initially kept Ahmed’s hunger strike from her parents, fearing it would cause them further distress. But as time went on, Alam felt like she had no choice but to tell them when he was first hospitalised. Ahmed’s father Mohammed Ali finds it too difficult to talk to him, worrying his voice will only make his son anxious and reveal how ill he has become since Kamran’s imprisonment. He pauses often to catch his breath, his chest rising sharply as he speaks. 'I remember when they came, they refused to let me see my son in the police van. Why would they do that? I just wanted to see him one more time' - Mohammed Ali, father of Kamran Ahmed “Please don’t show this interview to my son,” he says. “I don’t want him to see how bad I’ve become.” Ahmed was arrested in the early hours of the morning in November 2024. Police barged the door down, the parents recall, as they heard several officers ransacking every room. Begum says the shock of the raid and Kamran’s prolonged detention have led to her getting heart palpitations. She was taken to the hospital after her heartbeat became irregular. Since then, she says she has struggled to sleep or eat. Her husband remains traumatised by the raid. He doesn’t understand why his son has been on remand for so long without any explanation. Earlier this month, Alam confronted Justice Secretary David Lammy who said he “did not know” about the eight prisoners going on hunger strike over their prison conditions. “My health has only gotten worse [since the raid],” says Ali. “I remember when they came, they refused to let me see my son in the police van. Why would they do that? I just wanted to see him one more time.” Shahmina Alam, who works as a pharmacist, said she felt like her life has been on hold while campaigning for her brother Kamran Ahmed (AFP) Alam, who works as a pharmacist, has moved back to London to look after her elderly parents, who are both severely unwell, alongside Kamran’s older brother, who has a young family and works a full-time job as a bus driver. Her brother, Kamran, would typically take care of them, give them their medicine, and help them with day-to-day tasks like cooking and cleaning. Begum describes her son as being a quiet, gentle child who stayed close to his family. “When he was younger, he would get really shy and stay by my side or go to his sister,” she says. Ali says his son took on a caring role at home as he grew older. “He would help his mum in the kitchen a lot,” he says. “He would check up on the both of us and help out where he could. If things went wrong in the house, then he would take initiative and fix it.” He says Kamran was particularly attentive to his mother’s health. “He always kept a close eye on my wife because of her health problems,” Ali says. “She has depression and the medication makes it difficult to do things around the house, but Kamran would be there for her.” Kamran Ahmed worked as a mechanic helping his neighbours with their car problems (Supplied) Working as a neighbourhood mechanic, Ahmed spent most of his time in his area helping people with their cars, according to his family. Videos shared online show Ahmed actively campaigning for the Palestinian cause in his spare time, using his activism to raise awareness about the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Both parents say they are desperate to have their son home, so they can care for him themselves and make sure he is safe. Ahmed suffers from asthma and previously had a vitamin D deficiency that affected his bones, his father recalls. As his hunger strike continues and his time on remand stretches on, they say they are running out of ways to protect him. “We know that if he stays in there, it will only get worse,” Begum says. “He will become even more ill.” For now, both parents remain at home, waiting for their son. Begum says she and her husband now avoid Kamran’s bedroom, the door left closed most days. “My son’s bed is empty every night,” she says. “That’s what keeps me awake.” Israel's genocide in Gaza Katherine Hearst News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0