hunger strike

Thai activists hold a portrait of Netiporn Sanesangkhom, a member of the activist group Thaluwang outside of Criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday.

World News

A monarchy reform activist in Thailand dies in detention after a hunger strike

3:00am May 15, 2024

by The Associated Press

Netiporn Sanesangkhom, 28, was a member of the activist group Thaluwang, known demanding reform of the monarchy and abolition of the law that makes it illegal to defame members of the royal family.

Pro-democracy activists (right) hold placards with the picture of Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan as they march to the Chinese central government's liaison office in Hong Kong in Dec. 2020.

World News

A citizen journalist who shined a light on the pandemic in Wuhan may die in prison

10:44am November 11, 2021

"If she does not make it past the coming winter, I hope the world will remember her as she once was," Zhang Zhan's brother said. She posted videos of Wuhan in the early days of the pandemic.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, shown here in a February court session, reportedly has lost more than 30 pounds since his arrest.

World News

Kremlin Critic Navalny Says He Will End Prison Hunger Strike

12:09pm April 23, 2021

by Scott Neuman

The fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin began refusing food on March 31 to demand medical care for leg and back pain.

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U.S. citizen Moustafa Kassem was arrested amid a massive crackdown on sit-ins in Cairo in Aug. 2013. Police are shown arresting men as they clear a sit-in by supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

World News

U.S. Citizen Dies In Egyptian Prison, State Department Says

6:30pm January 13, 2020

by Merrit Kennedy

Moustafa Kassem, who sold auto parts in New York, was arrested amid a massive crackdown in Egypt in 2013. He had been on hunger strike for more than a year at the time of his death.

Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov is seen inside of the defendant's cage in a military courtroom on July 27, 2015. He is currently serving a 20-year sentence.

World News

'A Message To Moscow': Jailed Hunger Striker Wins Human Rights Award

6:37pm October 25, 2018

by Ruben Kimmelman

The winner of the Sakharov Prize is Ukrainian film director turned activist Oleg Sentsov who is serving a lengthy prison sentence in Russia, accused of plotting to bomb sites in Crimea.

In this June 17, 2018 file photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, people who've been taken into custody on charges of illegal entry sit in cages at a facility in McAllen, Texas.

National

Detained Fathers Turn To Hunger Strike

1:13pm August 02, 2018

by John Burnett

Immigrant families held at the Karnes County Residential Center in Texas are striking to protest their imprisonment.

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Protesters hold up portraits of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails during a demonstration in Gaza City to show support to the prisoners who launched a hunger strike on Monday.

World News

More Than 1,000 Palestinians In Israeli Prisons Go On Hunger Strike

1:24pm April 17, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

Imprisoned Palestinians are staging a mass open-ended hunger strike to protest their conditions. It's being led by prominent Palestinian political figure Marwan Barghouti.

Known as the "Iron Lady of Manipur," Sharmila arrives in New Delhi in March 2013, more than 12 years into her hunger strike. She was called into a Delhi court after being accused of attempting suicide.

World News

India's 'Iron Lady' Ends 16-Year Hunger Strike, Plans To Run For Office

3:31pm August 09, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Irom Sharmila stopped eating in 2000 to protest a law that gives broad powers to security forces in her home state of Manipur. She was arrested and has been force-fed ever since.

A detainee cell in Camp 6 inside the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in February.

After 9 Detainees Transferred From Guantanamo, The Number Held There Drops To 80

9:06am April 17, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The group transferred to Saudi Arabia represented just over 10 percent of the population that remained at Guantanamo. It's another step toward Obama's goal of shuttering the facility by next year.

Israeli Arab supporters of Mohammad Allan hold signs during a rally in the Israeli city of Ashkelon earlier this month. Allan spent his college years as an activist, fighting for Palestinian rights as a member of the student wing of the Palestinian Islami

World News

Hunger Strike Raises Debate About Force-Feeding In Israeli Prisons

1:39pm August 24, 2015

by Emily Harris

After a Palestinian prisoner's hunger strike, Israel's parliament passed a law permitting the force-feeding of prisoners to keep them alive, but doctors made it clear they wouldn't participate

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