POWYS protestors gathered in Knighton earlier this month to raise awareness of a prisoner who had slipped into a coma while on a hunger strike in Israel.

The Palestinian man, Hisham Abu Hawash, had endured 140 days of being on a hunger strike (sips of salt water allowed) when members of Radnor Palestine Links heard he’d slipped into a coma and decided to take action.

They met at Brookside Square, Knighton, on Wednesday, January 5, after hearing the man’s condition had become critical, gathering to raise their voices for his release from Israeli prison where he has been held with no charge or trial since October 2020.

At the last minute they heard that the Israeli authorities had agreed not to renew his administrative detention so Mr Hawash had come off his hunger strike and begun the process of recovery – but the group decided to go ahead with the demonstration regardless.

“He is still not being freed,” said Christine Brooks, of the group. “They won't let him go till the end of February. That is terrible. We are here to call for his release and also to draw attention to the plight of dozens of other administrative detainees, and insist on the human right to a fair trial if you are imprisoned. If they have done something wrong, give them a fair trial, and if not, free them.”

Radnor Palestine Links is a small group that monitors human rights in Israel and Palestine.

They organise a variety of events – last summer a Palestine Festival in Knighton, last month a human rights event in Presteigne with Palestinian speakers on Zoom, and most months a small stall that sells Palestinian produce and has information available.

“We get good responses,” explained Kate Maclean, who is from Knucklas. “Many people are interested.”