Palestine Action Activist Cleared, Claims Vindication After Elbit Factory Raid
Fatema Rajwani, the youngest of six Palestine Action activists cleared of aggravated burglary over a break-in at an Israeli defence firm's UK facility, has declared the jury verdicts a vindication of their cause. Rajwani, 21, was released on bail last Wednesday after spending 18 months in jail, having also been acquitted of violent disorder by a jury at Woolwich Crown Court in relation to the raid on the Elbit Systems factory in Filton, near Bristol, on 6 August 2024.
Courtroom Testimony and Defence Arguments
Rajwani, a film and media studies student who turned 20 the day before the Filton action, testified to jurors: "I had damaged drones, which is what I went in to do." Commenting on video footage shown in court, she stated: "That is me dismantling a quadcopter drone with a crowbar." She emphasised that the jury's decision reflected public sentiment, saying: "The verdicts are a reflection of the reality that the first chance that the public had to decide what happened to us, they vindicated us." Rajwani argued that the British public does not want citizens scapegoated for political aims or criminalised for supporting freedom and self-determination.
The prosecution alleged that security guards were whipped and sworn at during the incident, with defendants armed with sledgehammers "to be used if necessary to threaten and damage people." Samuel Corner, 23, a co-defendant and the only one denied bail, was accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm on police sergeant Kate Evans by striking her with a sledgehammer, but the jury failed to reach a verdict on this charge. The defence countered that any violence was unplanned, security guards used excessive force, and missing CCTV footage obscured the full picture of events.
Jury Deliberations and Legal Outcomes
Rajwani explained: "The jury found us not guilty [of aggravated burglary] because, unlike the rightwing critics and politicians who are commenting based on highly edited and cherrypicked footage, which cuts out so much context in order to fit the very specific narrative of violence, the jury saw all the evidence in the case." She asserted that aggravated burglary charges hinge on intent to harm, and their goal was to prevent violence by the Israeli regime and its British accomplices. "On seeing all the evidence in the case it was clear to them [the jurors] that our only intention was to dismantle weapons being used in a genocide," she added.
None of the six defendants were convicted of any offence, but the jury failed to reach verdicts on charges of criminal damage against all six, as well as violent disorder charges for three co-defendants and Corner's GBH charge. On Saturday, the Crown Prosecution Service announced it would seek a retrial, a prospect Rajwani described as "difficult" but less daunting than her past ordeal.
Personal Impact and Future Prospects
Reflecting on her experience, Rajwani said: "The last 18 months have been traumatic. I am still living the nightmare in parts, I can't hear a police siren without being transported back to the terrorism suite, I can't hear keys jangling without being terrified I'll be locked up. I am still scared of being yelled at for hugging my mother for too long." For now, she is focusing on enjoying freedom: "I've been doing all the things I haven't been able to since I was incarcerated, eating real food, using metal cutlery, eating on ceramic plates, taking the bus and hugging the people I love for more than the prison allocated five-second embrace."
She recounted a poignant moment: "I opened the front door to my house, with my own key. We got home that first night and my uncle had brought us all a big bag of takeout and we had chicken jalfrezi and crispy chicken, real spicy food. Aside from that, I'm just enjoying the fresh air and the ability to walk in a straight line, just because of how much our movement was analysed, punished and restricted within prison walls."
