Palestine Action trial lawyer wins appeal against contempt of court charge

"The court of appeal allowed the barrister's challenge to them. Menon's solicitor, Jenny Wiltshire, from Hickman & Rose, said: Rajiv is delighted that the court of appeal has found in his favour and decided that the Filton trial judge did not have the power to refer him directly to the high court to be prosecuted for contempt of court and that the high court did not have the power to accept the reference in the absence of an application by the attorney general in the public interest."

"She said he was grateful to his lawyers and others who supported him during a difficult time and hopes that this is now the end of the matter. This unprecedented attempt to criminalise lawyers for doing their job and representing their clients fearlessly should never be repeated. The trial judge, Mr Justice Johnson, referred Menon because he considered that the barrister had contravened his ruling in which he forbade lawyers from inviting the jury to disregard the court's rulings of law or to apply the principle of jury equity."

"the right of a jury to acquit on the basis of conscience regardless of the judge's directions or to inform the jury of it. None of the defendants were convicted of any offence but they were retried and four were convicted last week. The high court had directed that a summons for contempt be drawn"

A barrister, Rajiv Menon KC, won an appeal against a referral for contempt of court tied to his closing speech during a trial of Palestine Action activists. The trial involved six people accused over a 2024 direct action protest at an arms factory of Elbit Systems UK near Bristol. The referral was believed to be the first such contempt process against a barrister for a jury speech in living memory. The Court of Appeal allowed the challenge, finding the trial judge lacked power to refer him directly to the High Court for prosecution and that the High Court could not accept the reference without an application by the attorney general in the public interest. The defendants were not convicted initially, but later retrials led to convictions for four people.

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