Palestine Action activists wanted to smash up Elbit Systems’ property, court told | UK news
The court heard six Palestine Action activists broke into an Israeli-linked arms factory with the aim of destroying as much property as possible before police arrived.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said the defendants used a sledgehammer and crowbar to destroy drones manufactured by Elbit Systems and computers at its factory in Filton, near Bristol, on August 6 last year.
One of the defendants, Samuel Corner, 23, “went further than simply using a sledgehammer to destroy property. When the police arrived, he used his sledgehammer to attack them, as the defendants expected them to.”
Charlotte Head, 29, Corner, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were charged with criminal damage, while Corner was also charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Sergeant Kate Evans, who suffered a broken spine, the court heard. They all deny the accusations.
Opening the trial at Woolwich crown court on Wednesday, Heer said: “Once inside the factory their job was to smash up as much property as possible and keep smashing until the police arrived to arrest them.
“And that’s what they did. They had a number of tools with them to do this, including a crowbar and a sledgehammer. The sledgehammers weighed 7lb (3.2kg) each. They were capable of causing a significant amount of damage and were used to cause a significant amount of damage in the factory.”
The court heard that at 3.30am on the day in question, a minibus carrying the defendants crashed into the fences surrounding Elbit’s factory, followed by 12 Palestine Movement members wearing black overalls shouting “Free Palestine”. Heer said the “black team” was armed with smoke bombs, flares and fireworks, trying to “overwhelm the security guards so the red team could enter the factory.”
The van was driven towards the loading bay cover until it gave way. The jury heard the defendants, wearing red jumpsuits, used crowbars and sledgehammers to damage property once inside and sprayed fire extinguishers filled with red paint on walls and floors.
Heer told the court that when police arrived PC Aaron Buxton sprayed Pava spray (similar to pepper spray) at Corner and Devlin, who fell to the ground with Devlin on top of him. He said Corner struck Buxton twice and then walked over to Evans, who got on all fours, turned away from him and tried to arrest Rogers.
“He lifted his sledgehammer above his head and brought it down forcefully on his back,” Heer said. “After hitting him once, he picked him up again and hit him a second time… The woman screamed in pain. She immediately feared her spine was damaged and when she tried, she couldn’t stand up.”
The court heard Evans was unable to return to work for three months, was still in pain and was kept on restricted duties.
Heer said in planning documents found on an encrypted site that the aim of the attack was to “shut down Elbit. This is our primary goal as the Palestine Movement. We can do this by holding on to each other, ensuring its destruction with our brains and muscles.” One of the documents stated that if security guards intervened, the group should continue on their way “louder, angrier and more determined”.
The trial continues.
