Four pro-Palestine activists sentenced for attack on Israeli arms factory in UK

A UK judge has imposed long prison sentences on four Palestine Action activists who broke into an Israeli arms manufacturer's factory in Gloucestershire in 2024, smashing drones and other equipment. The damage amounted to £1.2 million, including 41 military assets.

Justice Johnson ruled that the offenses had a "terrorist connection" under the Sentencing Act, as they were designed to intimidate the UK government and a section of the public for a political or ideological cause. He described the attack as "carefully planned and highly sophisticated."

Charlotte Head, 30, and Leona Kamio, 30, each received five years; Fatema Rajwani, 21, got four years and eight months; and Samuel Corner, 23, sentenced to seven years and eight months for also causing grievous bodily harm to police sergeant Kate Evans. All will serve at least two-thirds of their sentences and face 15 years of terrorist notification requirements.

Corner used a sledgehammer on Evans, who testified that the incident profoundly affected her health and life. The activists had driven a prison van through the factory gates.

Defense lawyers argued that labeling the activists as terrorists was unprecedented and authoritarian, saying the Crown had not charged them with terrorism initially. They compared the case to suffragettes and peace movements.

Outside Woolwich Crown Court, around 500 protesters gathered, some holding placards reading "Saving lives is not terrorism." Over 100 people were arrested for allegedly supporting Palestine Action, which is proscribed under the Terrorism Act.