Four members of the pro-Palestine activist group Palestine Action have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms after a judge ruled their actions had a 'terrorist connection'. The activists were convicted of criminal damage following a break-in at the Elbit Systems UK site in Gloucestershire in 2024, where they caused £1.2 million in damage, including to drones and other military equipment.
Charlotte Head, 30, and Leona Kamio, 30, were each jailed for five years, while Fatema Rajwani, 21, received four years and eight months. Samuel Corner, 23, who was also found guilty of grievous bodily harm for striking a police officer with a sledgehammer, was sentenced to seven years and eight months. All four will serve at least two-thirds of their sentences and face 15 years of terrorist notification requirements.
Mr Justice Johnson stated the attack was 'carefully planned and highly sophisticated' and designed to intimidate the UK government and a section of the public. The judge emphasised that the defendants' political motives did not reduce the seriousness of their offences. Corner was noted for using 'extreme and gratuitous force' against a vulnerable police officer.
The sentencing has sparked controversy, with defence lawyers arguing that applying terrorism sentencing rules to non-violent criminal damage is unprecedented and authoritarian. They warned it could set a dangerous precedent, equating the activists with historical protest movements like the suffragettes. Approximately 500 protesters gathered outside Woolwich Crown Court, with placards reading 'Saving lives is not terrorism'.
