An empty chair at the table: the mothers whose children are in prison this Ramadan
Relatives of women accused of breaking into an Israeli business in Bristol say their daughters have experienced harsh prison conditions
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It’s 5.30pm on a recent Friday in HMP Bronzefield, Surrey, and instead of getting ready to join their families for iftar, Fatema Rajwani and Zahra Farooque are being ushered into their single-occupancy prison cells, where they will break their fast, alone.
In London, away from the echoing slams of prison doors, their mothers — Sukaina Rajwani and Anne Farooque — also prepare for iftar. The empty chair at each family’s dining table is a stark reminder that their daughters won’t be joining them during this Ramadan.
“It’s been emotional because it’s a month of community and spirituality,” said Sukaina. “It’s difficult in the sense that she doesn’t have her family and her community around her.”
Fatema has been in prison for seven months but the distance between mother and daughter feels greater during their first Ramadan apart.
“We usually go to our local mosque. We break fast together. She’s quite active in the community. She serves, she volunteers. Those are all the things she’s missing, and that’s what really makes her feel very down, that she’s not able to do those things any more,” Sukaina said.
Anne echoes this sense of loss. “There’s that feeling that someone is missing. There’s a feeling of sadness,” she said. “Knowing she’s alone there, when we are all together — once she called us at iftar time but we missed the call.”
Fatema, 20, and Zahra, 24, who have both been denied bail, are part of the “Filton 18” — a group of Palestine Action activists held on remand under counter-terrorism powers after being accused of disrupting the site of Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems UK in Filton, Bristol in August 2024.
The charges against the Filton 18 are non-terror-related offences including aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder. But the Crown Prosecution Service believes there is a “terrorist connection”, meaning counter-terrorism laws have been applied, allowing for harsher treatment. UN experts raised concerns last November and said it was “unjustified”.
Fatema, a third-year university student, was the only Muslim in a group of 10 who were arrested in August 2024.
Sukaina said her daughter has experienced harsh conditions during her detention. She said that officers at the station would enter Fatema’s cell without warning, forcing her to sleep with her hijab on. She was also subjected to regular random drug testing and faced interrogation day and night by counter-terrorism police.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East declined to comment on the case but said that all the people arrested in connection to the incident were held in custody in line with terrorism legislation.
After six days at the police station, Fatema was moved to HMP Bronzefield, where she faced continued harsh treatment, causing her to have panic attacks. For the first six days, she was held in a segregation block as a high-security prisoner. She wasn’t allowed to contact her family, and letters, emails and postcards sent to her by family members and supporters weren’t reaching her.
A spokesperson for HMP Bronzefield said: “Whilst we cannot comment specifically on any individual, we are confident that all relevant processes are followed. Should any prisoner have a specific concern, there are numerous ways in which these can be raised.”
Fatema has since left the segregation block and can now call her family every day, but Sukaina still believes she’s not getting all of her mail. “There have been times when I’ve cross checked with her. I’m not sure what the issue is.”
Anne is concerned that Zahra, who was among eight activists arrested in November 2024, hasn’t been receiving the prayer books she’s been leaving. “We have given them to the prison but it seems very hard to get them through to her. They are religious books specifically meant for Ramadan, so she needs them. The books have been there for almost a month and still they haven’t been delivered. I don’t know if it’s deliberate,” she said.
Sukaina says that some prayer books have taken up to four months to reach Fatema.
Despite the challenges, Anne and Sukaina try to remain positive. “We get a lot of inspiration from the Qur’an, and from the story of the people who have been oppressed and were on the right path and that the reward won’t be denied,” said Anne.
But as her mother, Anne still finds it difficult to think about Zahra breaking her fast all alone in her cell. “To be cut off from the others, to not be able to break the fast together with the other inmates, that’s really upsetting.
Prison authorities have been giving Zahra a hot packed meal for her iftar to eat in her cell. “They could easily organise an iftar so that they can break the fast together, or let them pray together,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sukaina has found that “Qur’an therapy” with her daughter over the phone has brought “strength and peace”.
“She knows that she’s on the right side of history. She has her low moments and there are times when she’s down but we navigate this together. We call it Qur’an therapy — whenever she’s feeling down, we’ll pick up the Qur’an and just open it up at any point in the middle and recite and see what the meaning says and try to reflect,” she said.
Fatema’s trial is provisionally set for November 2025, by which point she will have been in prison for 15 months. The case of the Filton 18 has been split across three trial dates, with the second date set for May 2026. Being in the third group, Zahra faces even greater uncertainty as her trial date hasn’t even been set yet. Her mum fears she could be held without trial for more than a year and a half.
Anne questions why her daughter has to wait so long for her trial, blaming the “failing justice system”.
During the last days of Ramadan, Sukaina and Anne reflect on their daughters’ absence. For them, the holy month is a time for family and unity, but this year, it has been marked by separation and a sense of loss.
“There is a bigger picture, we may not understand the ultimate wisdom, but we trust Allah for the best outcome. For me, as long as Zahra is mentally strong and spiritually strong, that’s the key,” said Anne.
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