Four Palestine Action activists have been jailed for a total of more than 22 years after a raid on an Israeli-linked defence company in Bristol caused £1.2 million in damage and left a police officer with a fractured spine.
Samuel Corner, 23, Charlotte Head, 30, Leona Kamio, 30, and Fatema Rajwani, 21, were sentenced after being found guilty of criminal damage following a retrial. Corner was also convicted of grievous bodily harm after attacking a police officer with a sledgehammer.
The raid took place in the early hours of 6 August 2024 at the Elbit Systems UK factory in Bristol. The group used a prison van as a battering ram to gain entry to the site, causing extensive damage in protest at the company’s links to the war in Gaza.
Corner was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison for grievous bodily harm and criminal damage. He will be eligible for parole after seven years and eight months.
Head and Kamio were each sentenced to six years less 45 days for criminal damage. Both will be eligible for parole after four years and 320 days. Head was also banned from driving for one year because she drove the prison van used to force entry to the site.
Rajwani was sentenced to five years and eight months less 45 days for criminal damage and will be eligible for parole after four years and 200 days. The judge said he took into account that she was 20 at the time of the attack.
Mr Justice Johnson said he also considered the impact of mental health issues and disorder diagnoses affecting Head, Kamio and Rajwani, which would make custody harder for them.
The court heard that the group caused about £1 million worth of damage to the factory and that officer Kate Evans suffered a fractured spine after Corner struck her with a sledgehammer.
In a victim impact statement, Evans said the injury had forced her to give up her rank of sergeant after struggling in the aftermath of the attack.
Mr Justice Johnson said the four defendants had all previously been of exemplary good character, but after becoming appalled by Israel’s actions in Gaza they had decided to take the law into their own hands instead of limiting themselves to lawful protest.
The judge also confirmed his earlier pre-trial ruling that the offences had a terrorist connection. He said one purpose of the offending had been to influence the UK government and that the actions were carried out to advance a political or ideological cause.
He said the intimidation of Elbit staff also amounted to intimidation of the public.
That ruling meant the court was required to impose tougher sentences, even though Palestine Action was not a proscribed terrorist organisation at the time of the raid. Legislation designating the group came almost a year later.
The court did not order compensation, but the judge said the company and the injured officer could bring separate legal proceedings to seek damages.
Outside Woolwich Crown Court, around 500 protesters gathered in support of the defendants and Palestine Action. The Metropolitan Police said 107 people were arrested for supporting the group during the demonstration.
Former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell was among those outside court and criticised the judge’s ruling on terrorist connection, saying it had been applied retrospectively and was unjust.