Today, four Palestinian Action activists may become the first protesters in Britain to be sentenced as terrorists without being convicted of terror offences.
Last month, the four, Lottie Head, Samuel Corner, Ellie Kamio and Fatema Rajwani, were found guilty of criminal damage at a site belonging to the Israeli arms company Elbit Systems.
They were convicted of damaging equipment including drones and computer system used in the genocidal war waged by the Israeli regime in Gaza.
The action by the protesters took place in August 2024 and it was almost a year later, in July 2025, that the Labour government proscribed Palestine Action as a ‘terrorist’ organisation. Despite this in an unprecedented move the judge, Mr Justice Johnson, ruled before the first trial that there appeared to be a ‘terrorist connection’ to the offences but that this could not be told to the jury.
Judge Johnson ruled that there appeared to be a ‘terrorist connection’ in the case because the activists were attempting to influence the Israeli government by restricting their access to weapons.
The judge further ruled out the defence of lawful excuse on the charge of criminal damage saying that the defendants could not give evidence of motivation, including ‘their beliefs about Elbit’s supply of weapons to Israel for use in the war in Gaza, their views about the actions of Israel in Gaza or its legality’.
Keeping this from the jury meant that they were convicted on the lesser charge of criminal damage but now face being sentenced for acts of terrorism.
If the judge decides there was a ‘terrorism connection’, the four would face a much harsher sentence.
Michael Mansfield KC, one of the UK’s leading human rights lawyer, said this violates fundamental legal principles and represents a ‘constitutional threat’.
Along with over 50 lawyers and legal experts, Mansfield signed an open letter this week saying that such a finding would be ‘wrong in principle’.
Mansfield told The Guardian newspaper: ‘It’s recategorising the offence without a trial. It’s particularly insidious for the obvious reason that they weren’t allowed to explain their motivation to the jury – that was denied to them. And yet the state says “we’re actually going to elevate what the offences are” when the jury might well not have convicted had they known they were going to be treated as terrorists.’
Mansfield concluded, saying: ‘The fundamental principle is that you should not be convicted on any statutory offence for which you have not been charged.’
Penny Green, a professor of law and globalisation at Queen Mary University of London, said: ‘It is beyond shocking that acts of criminal damage, designed to prevent the mass killing of Palestinians by Israel, are treated by the British state as acts of terror. The question we now have to ask is why British justice has been so demeaned and distorted as to stand in defence of the perpetrators of genocide.’
The Labour government has extended all the repressive laws brought in by previous Tory governments and increased the attacks by the state in an attempt to intimidate the millions of workers and youth who stand with the Palestinian resistance to Zionist genocide.
It proscribed Palestine Action and arrested thousands of, mainly elderly, people for the crime of holding placards expressing their support for the organisation.
The police have been mobilised to try and close down pro-Palestinian demonstrations while the Labour government actively defends the existence of Israeli arms companies in the UK.
The Labour government stands exposed as enablers of Zionist genocide – determined to create the conditions where it will be able to use the police and courts to hold back the overwhelming anger of workers and young people demanding the establishment of the independent state of Palestine.
The time has come for the working class to demand their trade unions take action by calling a general strike to kick out the Labour government and bring in a workers government that will immediately give all the support required for the establishment of the State of Palestine and ensure that the real criminals who support and enable genocide are made accountable before the working class for their crimes against humanity.
