Following the welcome release of 22 of the Filton 24 prisoners in February, and subsequently that of the ‘Moog 4’ (see p5) only six pro-Palestine activists currently remain detained in British prisons. Sam Corner, the only Filton defendant not freed by the courts, is still incarcerated in Belmarsh prison pending his retrial in April, while bail has repeatedly been refused for the Brize Norton Five – who are charged with breaking into a British military base in June 2025 and spray-painting aircraft.
The Brize Norton Five are Jon Cink, Amu Gib, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, Lewie C and Umer Khalid. They are all being held in different prisons in an attempt by the state authorities to isolate them and minimise solidarity. Four of the five participated in the hunger strike which commenced on 2 November 2025, the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, and which was instrumental in highlighting the long-term incarceration before trial of pro-Palestine activists.
Last to come off the protest was 23-year-old Umer Khalid, who spent two periods on hunger strike and who, in January this year, in a desperate bid to get the prison authorities to negotiate with him, also began refusing fluids. During this time there were repeated protests at Wormwood Scrubs prison in support of Umer, culminating, as we reported in the last issue of FRFI, on 24 January, when the police responded by arresting 86 people, who were subsequently given bail conditions not to go within 500m of Wormwood Scrubs and two other prisons where hungerstrikers were held.
Umer suffers from limb girdle muscular dystrophy, and the hunger and thirst strike has taken a severe toll on his physical health. He cannot walk unaided and his condition is continuing to deteriorate. Francesca Nadin of Prisoners for Palestine told FRFI: ‘there is no possible rationale for the immeasurably cruel treatment of this young man by the prison and court system’. Protesters outside the Ministry of Justice on 20 March called for urgent medical action and compassionate bail.
The Brize Norton Five’s trial has been set for January 2027. They are next in court on 1 May. For updates on the case, see @freebrizenorton5 on Instagram.
Free the Brize Norton Five!
