Twelve activists linked to the Palestine Action group who were charged with breaking into the British site of an Israel-linked defence firm have been released on bail. There were tears of joy at London's Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, as the 12 prisoners, including hunger strikers Teuta Hoxha, Kamran Ahmed, Qesser Zuhrah and Heba Muraisi, were released on Friday.
Six Palestine Action activists will face a retrial on criminal damage charges over a break-in at the UK base of an Israeli defence firm, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced. Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, are all accused of the raid on the Elbit Systems site near Bristol on 6 August 2024.
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. It is plain to see that the British public do not want their citizens to be scapegoated for this Labour government's political aims, they do not want to be criminalised for supporting a people's inalienable right to freedom, to dignity, and to self-determination.
Five pro-Palestinian activists have pleaded not guilty to breaking into a British military air base and damaging two planes in protest against the UK's support for Israel's war in Gaza. The five are accused of breaking into the Brize Norton Royal Air Force base in central England in June and spraying red paint over two Voyager aircraft used for refuelling and transport.
The UK's decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation has been likened to authoritarian crackdowns in Russia by a UN expert. The UN special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, Professor Ben Saul, said the UK government's ban on the direct action protest group is an unnecessary and disproportionate restriction on fundamental human rights. In evidence submitted to the High Court, he warned that the move sets a precedent for further crackdown on other protest movements in the UK, such as climate activists.
Participants will hold up signs which say: I oppose Genocide / I Support Palestine Action, until they are arrested or until it is clear the police have stopped arresting people, Defend Our Juries explained in a briefing document. The protest is part of a campaign for Palestine Action to be de-proscribed as a terrorist organisation, with events scheduled in 18 towns and cities in the UK from November 18th to 29th.
