By DANICA KIRKA, Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — Environmental activist Greta Thunberg was detained on Tuesday in central London while lending her support to pro-Palestinian demonstrators. These activists are on a hunger strike to protest their incarceration as they await trial for charges stemming from previous demonstrations.
The activist group, Prisoners for Palestine, released a video of the 22-year-old Swedish campaigner holding a placard in solidarity with the hunger strikers and their organization, known as Palestine Action. Earlier this year, the British government classified Palestine Action as a terrorist entity.
The protests were part of a broader action that included two activists spraying red paint outside an insurance company located in the City of London, the epicenter of the UK’s financial sector. According to Prisoners for Palestine, the insurance firm was targeted due to its alleged support for Elbit Systems, a defense company with links to Israel.
The City of London police reported the arrest of a man and a woman on suspicion of causing criminal damage. A third woman was later detained on suspicion of supporting a banned organization. In the UK, police typically do not disclose the identities of suspects before formal charges are filed.
Currently, eight members of Palestine Action are engaging in a hunger strike to protest being held without bail as they await trial on several charges related to previous protests across the nation.
The first two prisoners to join the protest have now been on hunger strike for 52 days and are at a “critical stage, where death is a real possibility,” Prisoners for Palestine said in a statement.
The British government has so far refused to intervene in the judicial process, saying questions about bail and detention are matters for the courts to decide.
