POLICE violently arrested 86 people who were peacefully protesting at Wormwood Scrubs prison in west London on Saturday night.
They had gathered in a show of support for 22-year-old prisoner Umer Khalid, who has added a thirst strike to his ongoing hunger strike.
The protest was to demand that he is given in writing the promises HMP Wormwood Scrubs prison governor Amy Frost made to him regarding his treatment in prison.
A spokesperson for Prisoners for Palestine said yesterday: ‘Last night, there was a violent, and wildly disproportionate response by the police to the protest outside Wormwood Scrubs, as Umer entered the second day of his thirst strike.
‘Attendees, including pensioners, have been punched, kicked and bound face down on the floor by the police.
‘A Bronze Commander has been filmed repeatedly punching a restrained protester.
‘Almost one hundred violent arrests laid bare the fragility and fear of the British state.
‘Our prisoners have shown no bars can stop their resistance, and outside no amount of violence will stop us escalating for Palestine.
‘Hundreds have committed to drive Elbit out of Britain with direct action following the hunger strikes, and this repression and violence will only make us stronger.’
A witness described police allegations of ‘aggravated trespass’, as ‘all nonsense’, adding: ‘There’s nothing to say you can’t go on the grounds. It was a visitors entrance with huge open gates and no security staff. Nobody was asked to leave and nobody blocked prison staff.
‘In fact, I saw prison staff walk around us and go inside the entrance that protesters are wrongfully accused of blocking.’
Umer, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder, Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy, and is currently being held on remand at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, is the last remaining hunger striker to participate in the Prisoners for Palestine hunger strike campaign.
Umer is now on day seventeen of his hunger strike and day-3 of his thirst strike.
