Six protesters affiliated with Palestine Action were cleared today in Woolwich Crown Court of aggravated burglary in connection with a break-in at a UK subsidiary of Elbit Systems, an Israeli defence company.
Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were also charged with criminal damage and violent disorder but the jury reached partial or no verdicts on those counts.
The Elbit Systems building near Bristol was targeted in a raid in the morning of 6th August 2024. A police officer was struck with a sledgehammer during the incident.
The incident took place almost a year before Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation.
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This is what Britain has come to. You can ram a factory’s doors with a truck. You can smash everything and attack security. You can break a police officer’s back with a sledgehammer when she is on the floor. And you can walk away scot-free if you did it ‘for Palestine’.
“How far does this impunity go? Can you paralyse for Palestine? Can you put someone in a coma for Palestine? Can you kill for Palestine? With a verdict like this, how long before we find out?
“Pressure was put on the jury. They even complained to the judge about the posters encircling the court building. But the judge told them to keep calm and carry on. The CPS must examine all possible steps to reverse this appalling and consequential miscarriage of justice.”
