A London court has handed down lengthy sentences to activists from campaign group Palestine Action, who raided an Israeli-owned arms company in the UK.
The four members of Palestine Action, which has been designated a terrorist group by the British govenrment, broke into a factory in Bristol, south west England, run by Elbit Systems, Israel's largest military manufacturer in August 2024.
Samuel Corner, 23, who struck police sergeant with a sledgehammer during the raid, was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison for grievous bodily harm and criminal damage.
Charlotte Head, 30, and Leona Kamio, 30, were each jailed for five years for criminal damage. Head was also banned from driving for one year after she used a prison van as a “battering ram” to force entry into the factory.
Fatema Rajwani, 21, received a sentence of four years and eight months for criminal damage.
Each will also be subject to 15 years of terrorist notification requirements.
The court heard that the group caused about £1 million ($1.3 million) during the raid, where the activists smashed up drones and other equipment.
The judge ruled that the offences met the legal definition of having a “terrorist connection,” a central issue in the case.
The finding of a “terrorist connection” required the court to impose more severe sentences.
“I am sure that one of the purposes of your offending was to influence the United Kingdom government,” Mr Justice Johnson said.
The court heard that the group sought to end what it considered to be Britain’s “complicity” in serious crimes by Israel in Gaza.
Mr Justice Johnson added that intimidation of company staff amounted to coercion of the public and that the offences were committed “for the purpose of advancing a political or ideological cause.”
Elbit Systems operates several offices and production facilities in Britain and elsewhere, producing communications systems, surveillance technologies and unmanned aerial and ground vehicles.
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Leaders from around the world are gathering in New York for the latest session of the United Nations General Assembly, with conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, global security, trade, artificial intelligence, climate change and economic development dominating the agenda.
Iran has called for a diplomatic solution after U.S. President Donald Trump rejected its Hormuz proposal, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was awaiting a definitive U.S. response through mediators.
British police have arrested five men on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act after a major security incident was declared near RAF Fairford, a British air base used by U.S. air forces in Gloucestershire, England.
A Russian guided aerial bomb has struck an apartment building in Kharkiv, injuring 22 people, including children, according to the city’s mayor. The strike follows a day of near-continuous Russian attacks across Ukraine that killed at least five people.
Six people have died after a two-storey residential building in a tourist area of central Athens collapsed, the Greek fire brigade said on Saturday (26 September), following an explosion that the mayor said was likely linked to gas infrastructure.
A Russian guided aerial bomb has struck an apartment building in Kharkiv, injuring 22 people, including children, according to the city’s mayor. The strike follows a day of near-continuous Russian attacks across Ukraine that killed at least five people.
France’s far-right National Rally (RN) and its ally, the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), have won enough seats to form a group in the Senate for the first time, marking a breakthrough for the party ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Pope Leo has renewed his pledge to tackle abuse within the Catholic Church after privately meeting survivors of clergy abuse during his visit to France.
Swiss voters have overwhelmingly rejected stricter neutrality rules that would have limited the country’s ability to impose sanctions and cooperate with NATO, with more than 70 per cent voting against the proposal.
Pope Leo XIV joined an estimated 150,000 pilgrims for a traditional candlelight procession at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France on Sunday (27 September), during the final evening of his visit to the Catholic pilgrimage site.
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