Over 90 celebrities have signed a letter urging a judge not to consider a "terrorist connection" when sentencing four Palestine Action activists convicted of a violent raid on an Elbit Systems factory that caused £1 million in damage and left a police officer with a fractured spine.
A group of activists associated with Palestine Action will be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday for their roles in a violent raid on an Elbit Systems factory in Bristol in August 2024.
The defendants-Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, and Fatema Rajwani-were convicted after two trials of criminal damage causing approximately £1 million in damage. The raid involved using a stolen prison van to breach the factory gates, followed by the use of sledgehammers and crowbars to destroy equipment. The activists clashed with security guards and police. Samuel Corner was additionally found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm after fracturing a police officer's spine with a sledgehammer.
The judge, Mr Justice Johnson, will consider whether the crime had a "terrorist connection" which could result in harsher sentences. The government had previously proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, but that ban was ruled unlawful by the High Court, with the Court of Appeal due to rule on its status soon. The activists' supporters argue that applying a terrorist label without the jury's knowledge would be unjust and could lead to disproportionate sentences.
A coalition of over 90 celebrities, including Steve Coogan, Miriam Margolyes, Charlotte Church, Maxine Peake, Paapa Essiedu, Zoe Wanamaker, Zawe Ashton, Tobias Menzies, Bella Ramsey, Nadia Sawalha, Kate Nash, Shirley Manson, Ardal O'Hanlon, Alexei Sayle, Yorgos Lanthimos, Ken Loach, Terry Gilliam, Sally Rooney, and climate activist Greta Thunberg, have written a letter urging the judge to reject the "terrorist connection" classification. The letter contends that such a designation would undermine the right to protest and the impartiality of the judicial system.
Misan Harriman, chairman of the Southbank Centre's board of governors, also signed the letter and is facing calls to step down over his "divisive" social media posts. The signatories argue that the activists were attempting to block UK arms supplies to Israel in response to the conflict in Gaza, claiming peaceful protest had failed. They state that sentencing the protesters as terrorists would constitute a "grave miscarriage of justice" with far-reaching consequences.
Lord Walney, a crossbench peer and former government adviser on political violence, condemned the letter, saying the celebrities show more sympathy for the convicted activists than for the injured police officer. Senior Tory MP Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, called the celebrities' campaign "utterly disgraceful" and emphasized that the activists, particularly Corner, committed serious violent crimes. The government has been urged to take a firm stance against what is described as "disgraceful criminality.
" The sentencing will hinge partly on the unresolved legal status of Palestine Action and the judge's interpretation of the "terrorist connection" ruling made last November
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