Palestine Action activists jailed over factory raid

Activists to be sentenced as terrorists over raid 1 hour ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Chloe Harcombe , West of England and Dominic Casciani , Home and Legal Correspondent Palestine Action Four people were convicted for the violent clash which fractured a police officer's spine and caused £1.2m worth of damage Four Palestine Action activists convicted of criminal damage at a UK site of an Israel-based defence firm are to be sentenced as terrorists in what is believed to be a legal first in the UK. Charlotte Head, 30, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, and Fatema Rajwani, 21, were convicted of causing £1.2m of damage at the Elbit Systems factory near Bristol in August 2024. Mr Justice Johnson told Woolwich Crown Court the offenders' actions had aimed to influence the government and intimidate the firm to advance their cause. "I am bound to find that the offence in each case had a terrorist connection and to apply that as an aggravating factor increasing the seriousness of the offence," he said. Corner was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm after he fractured Sgt Kate Evans' spine with a sledgehammer in the raid. Due to the terrorist ruling, the offenders will not qualify for early release from prison provisions and the Parole Board will assess their risk to the public when it determines when they can be set free. Head and Rajwani cried in the dock as Johnson passed his ruling. More from Bristol Motorists face major delays after police incident Dad accused of shaking four-week-old baby to death Young people urged to get meningitis B vaccine Rajiv Menon KC, defending barrister for Head and leading for all the defendants, previously told the court the prosecution's application for the case to have a terrorist connection "undermines the integrity of the criminal justice system and amounts to chilling and creeping authoritarianism". "It would be wholly wrong and unfair for this court to reach any conclusions as to the reasons or underlying motivations of the defendants in doing what they did given the prosecution applied for that evidence to be excluded," he said. Menon pointed out that Head had been cleared of aggravated burglary during a first trial of the case, while prosecutors then dropped a charge of violent disorder before a second trial went ahead only on the criminal damage charge. The barrister said it would be unprecedented for a defendant to be sentenced on the basis of a terrorist connection when found guilty of a non-violent offence. Menon added that it would be "laughable" if any Palestine Action activist actually believed direct action would achieve the group's stated aim to "shut Elbit down". He said activists in the raid on the Elbit Systems factory wanted to destroy equipment they believed would be sent to Israel and then used against Palestinians. PA Media A large demonstration is being held outside the court ahead of the activists' sentencing Deanna Heer KC, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said that the