Responding to reports of the worsening condition of members of the Filton 24 who are on hunger strike, Kerry Moscogiuri, Director of Campaigns and Communications at Amnesty International UK, said:  

“Amnesty International is seriously concerned at reports of the worsening condition of members of the Filton 24 who are on hunger strike. Amnesty has consistently opposed the use of anti-terrorism powers in these cases. They have been used to justify excessively lengthy pre-trial detention and draconian prison conditions.  

“The UK’s anti-terrorism laws are excessively broad and open to misuse, as has been demonstrated in the Filton 24 case where prosecutors have sought to escalate ordinary criminal prosecutions of direct-action protesters into terrorism cases. The use of terrorism laws to circumvent due process and impose harsher punishments on direct action protesters is a threat to expression and assembly rights for everyone.  

“Prosecutors must drop the allegations of a ‘terrorism connection’ in these cases and end any excessively lengthy pre-trial detention.”