Palestine Action Activists Sentenced Over 2024 Elbit Systems UK Raid in Bristol

Four British pro-Palestinian activists from Palestine Action were sentenced to a total of more than 20 years after a 2024 raid on an Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England, that caused more than £1 million of damage.

Judge Jeremy Johnson said there was an “aggravating factor that the offending had a terrorist connection,” and he sentenced Samuel Corner to seven years and eight months while Charlotte Head and Leona Kamio received five years and Fatema Zainab Rajwani received four years and eight months.

Al Jazeera

The case centered on a “terrorism connection” finding tied to the offences, with prosecutors arguing the incident should be treated as having a terrorism connection and with the judge giving longer terms after that determination.

CNN reported that the raid took place around 10 months into Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in response to a deadly attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023, and it said the activists disavowed violence against people while describing their motive as destroying weapons to stop what they called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.

In court, Mr Justice Johnson told the defendants they participated in a “carefully planned and highly sophisticated attack,” and he said the “fact that you were trying to shut down a company that you thought was acting unlawfully does not reduce the seriousness of the offence.”

The Guardian reported that defence barrister Rajiv Menon KC argued it was “an invitation to chilling, creeping authoritarianism that undermines the very fabric of our society,” after Johnson ruled there was a “terrorist connection” under section 69 of the Sentencing Act.

BBC

BBC described the case as believed to be the first time that convictions for criminal damage have been classified as being connected to terrorism, and it said Johnson added that the actions aimed to influence the government.

Outside Woolwich Crown Court, BBC said Green Party Leader Zack Polanski called the sentences “gut-wrenching,” while Labour MP John McDonnell said the scale was “truly shocking,” and it reported that Sgt Evans read an impact statement saying she was still receiving medical treatment and had been forced to give up her rank.

The Guardian said each activist would spend an additional one year on licence and be subject to 15 years of terrorist notification requirements, and it reported that the terrorist connection finding meant they will have to serve at least two-thirds of their sentences for criminal damage in prison.

“Palestine Action activists jailed over factory raid Four Palestine Action activists have been jailed after causing £1”

BBC

CNN reported that Palestine Action was later proscribed under terrorism law and that a London High Court ruling ruled the decision unlawful while the group remained banned pending a government appeal, with a ruling due on Monday.

BBC said the offenders will not qualify for early release from prison provisions and that the Parole Board will assess their risk to the public when it determines when they can be set free, while it also said all four will serve an additional one year on a licence in the community at the end of their terms.

The Times of Israel added that the High Court ruling was due on Monday on the government’s appeal against the lifting of a ban on Palestine Action, and it said the assault on the Bristol factory in 2024 was one of the events that led the government last year to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organization under the 2000 Terrorism Act.