Palestine Action: Activists jailed as over 100 arrested at sentencing protest

WorldPolitics
12 Jun 2026 • 11:13 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Palestine Action: Activists jailed as over 100 arrested at sentencing protest

  • Four Palestine Action activists have been jailed following a raid on an Israel-based defence firm’s UK factory near Bristol in August 2024, which caused £1.2 million in damage and left a police officer with a fractured spine.
  • Samuel Corner received the longest sentence of seven years and eight months, while Charlotte Head and Leona Kamio were each handed five-year terms, and Fatema Rajwani four years and eight months, with all four serving an additional year on licence.
  • The activists crashed an old prison van into the Elbit Systems site, then used sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy equipment, with Corner striking Pc Kate Evans twice with a sledgehammer, causing a fractured spine.
  • Mr Justice Johnson ruled the raid an “act of terrorism” intended to influence the UK Government and intimidate the public, a classification contested by the defence who cited the activists' “conscientious motivations” regarding the conflict in Gaza.
  • The judge's ruling means the activists will serve at least two-thirds of their sentences and face 15 years of extra monitoring and terrorist notification requirements, while over 100 people were arrested after protesting outside the court where the activists were sentenced.

IN FULL