Mick Hartley

The Bronzefield Six, I suggested. OK, they’re not all at Bronzefield. Hunger striker Kamran Ahmed is in Pentonville. He’s interviewed (by phone) in the Sunday times today, in the most laudatory terms. Not a word is offered to counter his view of himself as a devout Muslim who considers his life a small price to pay for making the world a better place.

“Every day I’m scared that potentially I might die,” he said in a telephone interview on Friday night from his cell, where he spends 21 hours a day. “I’ve been getting chest pains regularly … There have been times where I felt like I’m getting tasered — my body’s vibrating or shaking. I’ll basically lose control of my feelings.

“I’ve been scared since the seventh day when my blood sugars dropped. The nurse said, ‘I’m scared you’re not going to wake up [when you go to sleep]. Please eat something.’”

“But I’m looking at the bigger picture of perhaps we can relieve oppression abroad and relieve the situations for my co-defendants,” added Ahmed, a mechanic from east London. “Yes, I’m scared of passing away. Yes, this may have life-long implications. But I look at the risk versus reward. I see it as worthwhile.”

Ring any bells? Another martyr for the cause.

He and his fellow hunger strikers are awaiting trial on charges of criminal damage, aggravated burglary and violent disorder at a factory for Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer, and in relation to an alleged break-in at RAF Brize Norton, in June. Serious stuff. Articles like this serving the cause and feeding the heroic martyrs-for-Palestine myth certainly don’t help.

Outrageously, “Comments are not enabled for this article”. Yes, perhaps this self-righteous fool’s voice should be heard, thinking he’s above the law – but without allowing anyone the opportunity to call him out?