Four Palestine Action Activists Jailed for Elbit Factory Raid, Sentences Include Terrorism Connection

Four Palestine Action activists have been imprisoned after inflicting £1.2 million in damage at a UK facility operated by an Israeli defence firm. Charlotte Head, 30, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, and Fatema Rajwani, 21, were convicted of criminal damage following their August 2024 incursion into the Elbit Systems factory near Bristol.

Mr Justice Johnson ruled that the group’s actions were intended to influence the government, classifying the raid as having a “terrorist connection”. Corner received a sentence of seven years and eight months for criminal damage and grievous bodily harm against a police sergeant. Head and Kamio were each sentenced to five years, while Rajwani received four years and eight months.

This marks a notable application of terrorism legislation, as it is believed to be the first instance where criminal damage convictions have been explicitly classified with a terrorist connection. This designation prevents the offenders from qualifying for early release, with the Parole Board solely responsible for determining their eventual release based on public risk assessment.

Justice Johnson highlighted that two activists livestreamed the raid and shared footage on social media, describing it as an attempt to “glorify criminality and vigilantism”. He also stated that the activists showed recklessness regarding potential injuries and were deeply involved in orchestrating the plan.

Corner, a former Oxford student, was additionally convicted of causing grievous bodily harm after fracturing the spine of Sergeant Kate Evans with a sledgehammer during the raid. Sergeant Evans testified that she continues to receive medical treatment and has had to relinquish her rank due to the incident’s profound emotional and physical impact.

Rajiv Menon KC, representing the defendants, argued that the prosecution's application for a terrorist connection “undermines the integrity of the criminal justice system and amounts to chilling and creeping authoritarianism”. He emphasised that it would be unprecedented for a defendant found guilty of a non-violent offence to be sentenced on the basis of a terrorist connection. The activists’ stated aim was to destroy equipment they believed would be dispatched to Israel for use against Palestinians.

Deanna Heer KC, for the Crown Prosecution Service, asserted that the criminal damage at the Elbit factory indeed possessed a “terrorism connection”. UK law permits longer sentences for standard offences if a court determines the crime was committed to influence a government or public section for an ideological cause, encompassing serious violence or property damage.

Outside the court, approximately 500 protesters gathered in support of Palestine Action. Separately, Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the government in July of last year, a move later declared unlawful by the High Court in February, yet the group remains proscribed.