Palestine Action activists in Elbit protest could be sentenced as terrorists

Four Palestine Action activists convicted​ after a retrial over a violent protest at an Israeli arms manufacturer’s UK site face being sentenced as terrorists despite the jury not being told this. In an unprecedented move in a criminal damage case, the judge, Mr Justice Johnson, ruled before the first trial that there appeared to be a “terrorist connection” to the offences – even though the protest took place before Palestine Action was proscribed – but this could not be told to the jury. The finding and the restriction on telling the jury continued for the retrial. Jurors subsequently convicted Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, and Fatema Rajwani, 21, of criminal damage over the 2024 break-in at the Elbit Systems UK site near Bristol. The terrorism connection ruling can only now be revealed after reporting restrictions were lifted on Tuesday. At sentencing, a separate determination will be made based on the criminal standard of proof of whether there was a terrorism connection. If the court finds there was, it would mean the four would have to serve their whole sentence in prison, unless a parole board approved their release after completing two-thirds of their sentence. Non-terrorist prisoners usually serve 40% of their sentence. The parole board would also have to be satisfied that the defendants were reformed and had rescinded their beliefs. …