Four activists from the group Palestine Action have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for a break-in at an Israeli arms manufacturer's factory in Gloucestershire, with a judge ruling that the offences had a 'terrorist connection'. The sentences were handed down at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday.
Charlotte Head, 30, and Leona Kamio, 30, were each jailed for five years, Fatema Rajwani, 21, received four years and eight months, and Samuel Corner, 23, was sentenced to seven years and eight months for criminal damage. Corner was also convicted of grievous bodily harm without intent for striking a police officer with a sledgehammer. All four will serve at least two-thirds of their sentences and face 15 years of terrorist notification requirements.
The court heard that the November 2024 raid on the Elbit Systems UK site caused £1.2 million in damage, including to 41 military assets such as drones. Mr Justice Johnson described the attack as 'carefully planned and highly sophisticated', adding that it was designed to intimidate the UK government and a section of the public. He rejected arguments that the activists' political motives reduced the seriousness of their crimes.
Defence lawyers criticised the terrorist connection finding, calling it unprecedented for a non-violent offence and warning of 'creeping authoritarianism'. One barrister noted that the suffragettes and Greenham Common protesters could similarly be labelled terrorists under such reasoning. Outside court, around 500 protesters gathered, with some holding signs reading 'Saving lives is not terrorism'.
