Palestine Action activists could be sentenced as terrorists for £1m raid on Elbit defence factory

It has now been revealed that Palestine Movement activists who caused criminal damage worth £1 million to an Israeli defense firm could be punished as terrorists.

Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio and Fatema Rajwani were found guilty of the raid on the Elbit Systems factory in Bristol on 6 August 2024.

Armed with sledgehammers and crowbars, activists attacked the site using an old prison van.

During the fight, Corner broke a police officer’s spine.

The four defendants claimed the action was necessary to protect Palestinians.

He was found guilty of criminal damage at Woolwich Crown Court last week, while Corner was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm.

It can now be reported that Mr Justice Johnson found in his pre-trial ruling that the charges had a “terrorist connection”.

Palestine Action was banned as a terrorist organization under a government restraining order in July 2025.

However, the controversial move was declared unlawful by the Supreme Court in February this year.

Despite the government’s defeat on the court’s ban, Mr Justice Johnson may still be asked to consider a terrorist connection to the raid on the Elbit factory when he imposes sentence on June 12.

The Court of Appeal is currently considering the government’s appeal, but it is not yet known whether it will issue its decision when the judge issues the sentence in June.

Supporters of the defendants complained during the trial that jurors considering the case were not informed of the terrorist connection or that the activists could face enhanced penalties if convicted.

They say that if sentences are imposed with a connection to terrorism, prison sentences will be longer and must be served in full, and convicted defendants may spend years after prison under close monitoring by counter-terrorism police.

In pre-trial orders that can now be released, Mr. Judge Johnson also barred the defendants from producing documents “that relate to the defendants’ reasons for believing that Elbit was supplying arms to Israel and that Israel’s military operations in Gaza were unlawful.” [sic]”.

The defendants were allowed to explain that the raid was part of Palestine Action’s direct action campaign to damage Elbit property, that they believed the firm was supplying weapons to Israel for use in the war in Gaza, and that they believed Israel’s actions in Gaza were illegal.

Activists say they want to inflict maximum damage to prevent military equipment from being used against Palestinians.

But the judge also ruled that these aspects of the defense case needed to be carefully limited, ruling: “It need not and should not be exhaustive. It is not in dispute.”

“To prolong this any further than necessary would be disproportionate and a waste of the jury’s time.

“There is also a risk that, unless carefully presented and checked, such evidence will be misinterpreted by the jury as an indication that it is important for the jury to consider the legality of Israel’s military operations in Gaza.”

During the raid on Elbit, activists wore red overalls and filmed themselves breaking into the factory and breaking equipment.

While there were clashes with the police and security guards who tried to intervene after computers and drones were damaged, fire extinguishers sprayed red paint on the walls and floor.

Head, Corner, Kamio and Rajwani were found guilty of criminal damage, while two other activists, Zoe Rogers and Jordan Devlin, were cleared of the same charge.

Corner was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to Police Sergeant Kate Evans.

At the first trial of the case, all six defendants were cleared by the jury of the charge of aggravated burglary, and Rajwani, Ms. Rogers and Mr. Devlin were acquitted of the charge of violent disorder.

Prosecutors later dropped violent disorder charges against the other three defendants.

Lawyer Rajiv Menon, who represented Head, was accused by the judge of contempt of court in his closing statement of the first trial, in which he was said to have disregarded orders regarding evidence that could be presented to the jury. He was also accused of misleading the jury about the prosecution case.

But the Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that the judge made a mistake in referring the defamation case to the Supreme Court and ordered him to reconsider the matter.

Since the first banning order was issued, hundreds of Palestine Action supporters have been arrested and charged with terrorism offences.

They are often accused after holding banners supporting the group and stating that they oppose genocide.

Arrests at mass demonstrations were halted after the Supreme Court issued a ban, but police began detaining activists again while the Court of Appeals considered the legality of the government’s ban.