Palestine Action Activists to Be Sentenced As Terrorists in Move Kept Secret From Jury and Public

A court will seek to sentence four Palestine Action activists found guilty of criminal damage at a site owned by Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer as terrorists, even though they were not convicted of terror charges, Novara Media is now able to report. 

The ‘terror connection’ was kept secret from the jury and UK media outlets were barred from reporting on this due to court-imposed restrictions, which were lifted on 12 May. This is believed to be the first case in British history where a court will attempt to sentence activists taking direct action as terrorists.

Judge Jeremy Johnson is expected to add a ‘terrorist connection’ to the charges of Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona (Ellie) Kamio and Fatema Rajwani under section 69 of the Sentencing Act 2020, despite the jury only convicting them of criminal damage and having no knowledge that a terror link could be later imposed. 

Head, Corner, Kamio and Rajwani – all aged between 21 and 30 – were convicted on 5 May after taking part in a raid on an Elbit factory near Bristol in August 2024 where they damaged Israeli quadcopter drones. Corner was also convicted for a lower category of GBH without intent. 

Another two activists, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were cleared of criminal damage charges by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court. All six activists, part of the so-called Filton 24, were previously cleared of the most serious charges of aggravated burglary and violent disorder. 

The use of terrorism legislation in this case is based solely on property damage – the fact that Israeli drones and weapons were dismantled. The court will rely on the “serious property damage” clause under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Being sentenced as terrorists means the defendants could face significantly longer time in prison and be listed as terrorists upon release – imposing severe limitations on their lives. Most have already served 18 months on remand, with Corner incarcerated for 21 months. 

In a preparatory hearing back in March 2025, the judge ruled that there appeared to be a ‘terrorist connection’ as the activists were attempting to influence the Israeli government by restricting its access to weapons. 

Judge Johnson said: “On s1(1)(b) of the Terrorism Act 2000, Rajiv Menon KC and others strongly argued that influencing government was not the purpose of the action – the purpose of the action was to damage weapons and save lives. I accept that this was one motivating factor – but that does not mean that another purpose was not to damage property to be made available to the Israeli government and thereby influence the Israeli government.”

Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, who defeated the government’s proscription case at the high court in February, told Novara Media: “The judge kept secret from the jury that the defendants would be sentenced as terrorists, presenting that they were only charged for criminal damage which the jury decided four were guilty of. Unknowingly, the jury actually likely convicted them of terrorism.

“This is the first case, and therefore the test case, for trying to convict activists as terrorists, using a manipulated court process. Convicting activists for one charge, then sentencing them as terrorists, is more outrageous than the proscription of Palestine Action. Everyone needs to mobilise against it.”

Stringent restrictions around the trial prevented UK media outlets from reporting that defendants were barred by the judge from speaking on their motivations for joining Palestine Action and providing information on the genocide in Gaza or Elbit Systems. These restrictions have now been lifted.

Ahead of closing speeches, the judge issued an order heavily restricting the contents of their defence teams’ statements, prohibiting the defence from referring to the principle of jury equity (the absolute power of a jury to convict or acquit according to their conscience) or informing the jury that a judge may not direct a jury to convict. 

The judge also prohibited the defence from relying on certain legal defences, including that the defendants’ actions were legally justified as they acted out of necessity to save lives, acted to prevent a greater crime, or acted to prevent much greater property damage in Palestine. 

The defence were barred from inviting the jury to rely on the following matters when reaching their verdicts: Elbit’s activities in manufacturing weapons and supplying them to Israel; the nature of the property defendants damaged or destroyed; the defendants’ belief that weapons and other technology at Elbit’s factory would be used to kill or injure others, including children; the fact that the defendants were arrested for terrorism offences; the fact that the defendants have been acquitted of aggravated burglary and violent disorder; and the history of the Middle East, including events in the Middle East since 7 October 2023 and Israel’s activities in Gaza.  

Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana used parliamentary privilege in April to expose the court order that withheld this important information from both jurors and the British public.

Due to the restrictions, all defendants except for Corner elected to self-represent and deliver their own closing speeches. 

Some of the speeches alluded to the restrictions. In her closing speech, Kamio said: “This is not everything that I’d like to tell you, but I’m so scared of the consequences of saying something I’m not permitted to, that I hope this is enough.” 

Representing herself, Rogers told the court: “I can say with absolute certainty that this is the best thing I have ever done, because there is a good chance that because of our actions that night, innocent lives were saved.”

In a press conference after her acquittal, she added: “My co-defendants should be outside here with me. I don’t blame the jury for their decision as the truth was withheld from them throughout the trial. This is a miscarriage of justice and the litmus test has been failed for democracy and rule of law in this country.”

Israel has killed a conservative estimate of 72,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, including 20,000 children.