Four UK activists convicted of breaking into Israeli firm in Palestine

Six British Activists Found Guilty of Criminal Damage in Elbit Systems Raid

A London court has delivered verdicts in the trial of six British pro-Palestinian activists who were involved in a 2024 raid on an Israeli defence firm’s facility in Bristol. The defendants, members of the banned Palestine Action group, were found guilty of causing approximately £1 million worth of damage to Elbit Systems’ research and development facility.

The incident occurred about 10 months into Israel’s conflict with Gaza, which began in October 2023. Prosecutors alleged that the six defendants damaged Israeli military drones and equipment at the facility. The defence team stated that their clients admitted to damaging the equipment, citing it as a means to “save lives in Palestine”.

Four of the six defendants were found guilty: Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, and Fatema Zainab Rajwani. Corner was specifically convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm after striking a police officer with a sledgehammer. Zoe Rogers and Jordan Devlin were acquitted.

The court’s verdict follows an earlier trial in which the defendants were acquitted of aggravated burglary charges. Prosecutors had initially dropped charges of violent disorder against all six defendants. The UK government had previously proscribed Palestine Action under “terrorism” law, although this decision was later ruled unlawful by a High Court ruling.

Elbit Systems is a defence technology company with approximately 20,000 staff and revenues of $2 billion.

Source: Al Jazeera