Four members of Palestine Action who damaged a Barclays Bank branch in protest against the bank's links to the Israeli military have been handed suspended prison sentences.
Brendon O'Hagan, 28, Amanda Kelly, 31, Mohammed Malik, 26, and Hmeera Atiqnisar, 31, targeted the bank on St James's Street in Burnley, Lancashire, in the early hours of August 5, 2024. At 2am the group arrived dressed in dark clothing with their faces covered by masks. Atiqnisar and Malik smashed windows with hammers while Kelly, from Ashton-under-Lyne, threw red paint over the front of the building. O'Hagan, from Whalley Range, filmed the action to be shared in publicity to promote the cause, Preston Crown Court heard.
Attack and Arrest
They were then driven away by Alma Yaniv, 70, before being stopped by police. When officers searched the vehicle they found two hammers, face coverings, spray paint and material relating to the Israel and Palestine conflict. Atiqnisar also had red paint on her clothing, the court heard. A security guard who was in the building at the time took refuge upstairs and called for help as the attackers vandalised the premises.
All four, along with driver Alma Yaniv, 70, were convicted of criminal damage following a trial. They said the 2am attack was designed to pressure Barclays into withdrawing financial support for weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, a firm based in Israel.
Sentencing and Context
In July 2025, Palestine Action became a proscribed terrorist organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000, making it a criminal offence to be part of the group, take part in activities relating to it or carry materials supporting the organisation. However, the Honorary Recorder of Preston, Judge Robert Altham, said the activities carried out by the 'Barclays 5' predated the organisation's proscription.
At an earlier hearing he considered whether the vandalism of Barclays should be sentenced as terrorist activity but said although the damage was serious - totalling more than £212,000 - it did not reach the threshold of serious damage for a terrorist connection finding. The court heard O'Hagan, Atiqnisar, Kelly and Malik had taken part in a Palestine Action training day prior to the attack. Atiqnisar was the main organiser and had set up a group chat for the four of them. She also recruited Yaniv as the driver, although Yaniv was not part of the group. Each said their offending was conscientiously motivated but now accepts it was criminal.
Judge Altham said: "I take into account the mitigating effect of this being an offence committed in the course of a protest. Whilst this was a non violent protest, it still involved the potentially shocking sight of masked people running through the streets of Burnley late at night, armed with hammers, without any regard for the security staff inside, taking hammers to the windows and causing significant damage. So intent on making your point were you that you all showed a complete disregard to the people passing by as well as those in the building."
"Each of you was motivated by sincerely held beliefs and nothing I say is intended to question the sincerity of those beliefs. In a democratic society there is a fundamental distinction between holding even the strongest beliefs and deciding that holding them entitles you to break the law. My understanding is that you now understand that distinction. However sincerely a view is held, that sincerity does not entitle you to pursue it by unlawful means. That does not mean you are in any way restricted from lawful protest. It is no business of the court to restrict lawful protest."
He sentenced Atiqnisar to two years suspended for 12 months and O'Hagan, of College Road, Whalley Range, Manchester; Malik, of Addison Street, Blackburn; and Kelly, of Ashlynne, Ashton-under-Lyne, to 20 months suspended for a year. Each has been ordered to carry out unpaid work and work with the probation service. Yaniv, of Verney Crescent, Liverpool, will be sentenced at a separate hearing.
