Six activists from the Palestine Action group have been acquitted of aggravated burglary following a break-in at an Israeli defence firm's site near Bristol. The trial at Woolwich Crown Court concluded on Wednesday, with the jury finding none of the defendants guilty of any offence.
The activists—Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, Fatema Rajwani, Zoe Rogers, and Jordan Devlin—were accused of using sledgehammers as weapons after driving a prison van into the Elbit Systems factory in Filton on 6 August 2024. The charge of aggravated burglary carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Jurors also found Rajwani, Rogers, and Devlin not guilty of violent disorder. However, they could not reach verdicts on charges of criminal damage against all six, despite most admitting to entering the factory without permission and damaging equipment, including computers and drones. No verdict was reached on the allegation that Corner inflicted grievous bodily harm on a police sergeant, nor on violent disorder charges against Head, Corner, and Kamio.
During the trial, the prosecution argued that the defendants were armed with sledgehammers intended to threaten and harm people, while the defence claimed any violence was unplanned and that the activists were 'completely out of their depth'. Defence counsel Rajiv Menon KC compared Head to the suffragettes and described Elbit Systems as a 'dreadful company' involved in the killing of Palestinians.
After the verdicts, supporters cheered as the activists hugged in the dock. Clare Rogers, mother of one defendant, criticised the government for prioritising business with Israel over preventing genocide. A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries called the verdicts 'a huge blow to government ministers', and Amnesty International said the outcome highlighted the disproportionate nature of the proscription of Palestine Action.
