Four Palestine Action activists have been found guilty of raiding an Israel-based defence firm’s UK site and destroying equipment with sledgehammers and crowbars in a bid to shut the factory down.
Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio and Fatema Rajwani were in a prison van which crashed into shutters at the Elbit Systems factory in Bristol in the early hours of August 6 2024.
The activists, all wearing red boiler suits, then set about destroying property inside the factory, before clashing with security guards and police who tried to stop the raid.
Head, 30, was driving the prison van, which was used as a “battering ram” to break into the facility, Woolwich Crown Court was told.
The raid had been “meticulously organised” and was aimed at “causing as much damage as possible and obtain information about the company”, said prosecutor Deanna Heer KC.
The activists used sledgehammers and crowbars they had brought with them to destroy computers, drones, and other equipment, and used fire extinguishers to spray red paint across the walls and floor.
The group caused an estimated £1 million of damage during the raid, a court was told.
Head, Corner, Kamio and Rajwani were each found guilty of criminal damage after a jury deliberated for more than 14 hours.
Two other activists, Zoe Rogers and Jordan Devlin, who had been charged with criminal damage were found not guilty.
Corner was also found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm by a majority of 11 to one. He was cleared of grievous bodily harm with intent.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow…
