Palestine Action activists cleared of aggravated burglary at Israeli factory
Six Palestine Action activists have been cleared of felony theft for the break-in at the UK facility of an Israel-based defense firm.
Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, stood trial at Woolwich Crown Court for allegedly using or threatening unlawful violence and using sledgehammers as weapons after a prison van was driven into Elbit Systems’ Bristol factory.
Prosecutors said the six defendants, whose trial began in November, were members of the now-banned Palestine Action group.
All six were acquitted of the felony burglary charge, and jurors found Ms. Rajwani, Ms. Rogers and Mr. Devlin not guilty of violent disorder.
The jury deliberated for 36 hours and 34 minutes but was unable to reach a verdict on criminal damage charges against all six defendants.
No verdict was reached on the allegation that Mr Corner, 23, caused grievous bodily harm to Police Sergeant Kate Evans, or on the violent disorder charges against Ms Head, Mr Corner and Ms Kamio.
Six activists hugged each other on the dock as a dozen supporters cheered from the public gallery above.
In footage shown to jurors, six people were seen wearing red jumpsuits during the demonstration in the early hours of August 6, 2024.
Prosecutors said the six tried to “cause as much damage as possible and get information about the company.”
In body-body footage of one of the security guards shown to jurors, three of the defendants approached him and shouted “fuck you” at him; one was holding a lit flare and the other two were swinging a sledgehammer.
All of the defendants except Mr. Devlin testified, telling jurors that they had entered the factory without permission and damaged Elbit’s equipment, including computers and drones.
They told jurors that the sledgehammers were only intended to damage property and “in no event were they intended to injure security personnel.”
The court heard that the defendants did not plan to use violence in the protest.
The hearing heard that at around 3.30am on August 6, 2024, Ms Head, a charity worker, drove a prison van into the facility’s perimeter fence and then used the vehicle “like a stake” to enter the factory.
The six carried out what Ms Head called “the craziest 20 minutes of my life” before being arrested by the police.
Prosecutors claimed that when security guards tried to stop the protesters, they were cursed at and told to leave, they were swung with a sledgehammer and whipped, and one of them was sprayed with a foam fire extinguisher.
Rajiv Menon KC, defending, stated that they did not expect the security guards to enter the factory during their action, adding that the accused were “completely out of their depth”.
It was said at the hearing that the defendants “genuinely believed” that their demonstration at the factory would help the Palestinian cause in Gaza.
As the jury retired, the court heard posters were put up on bus stops and lampposts near the building: “The jury does not decide the judge”, “Jury equity is when a jury acquits a person on moral grounds” and: “A jury can return a verdict of not guilty even if it believes a defendant has broken the law.”
The prosecution said it was aware of signs posted in public places during the trial setting out the principle of “jury equality” – the jury’s capacity to decide according to their conscience – and that police took down the posters.
“The way we deal with it is to ask the local police to move them away from bus stops and lampposts, but they keep reappearing,” Deanna Heer KC told the judge.
One of the jurors sent an email to the court saying he had seen the exhibits and said someone was “trying to influence the jury and their decisions.”
