Seventy-two people were arrested outside Woolwich Crown Court in London on Friday after gathering in support of Palestine Action during the sentencing hearing of four activists involved in a raid on an Elbit Systems UK factory, Anadolu reports.
The Metropolitan Police said all 72 were being held in custody after being detained for expressing support for Palestine Action, which remains a proscribed organization despite a High Court ruling earlier this year that found the ban unlawful.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the court as the four activists, known as the Filton 4, faced sentencing over their role in a 2024 action at an Elbit Systems site in Bristol.
Around 200 demonstrators staged a sit-in protest, while others held placards reading: “Saving lives is not terrorism … I support Palestine Action.”
At about 1.20 pm local time, a middle-aged man carrying one of the signs was carried into the back of a police van by officers.
Several elderly demonstrators, some aged between 80 and 90, were also arrested after silently holding signs expressing support for the organization.
One passerby was heard pleading with police as officers detained an elderly woman.
READ: Protesters gather at London court to support Palestine action activists
“She’s frail … can you let her go? … just from holding up a placard!” the person shouted.
Defending the arrests, the Metropolitan Police said: “We must enforce the law as it is at the time, not as it might be at a future date. We must do that consistently and without fear or favour.”
Earlier this year, the force said it remained a criminal offense to express support for Palestine Action while the proscription remained in force.
The protest coincided with the sentencing hearing of four Palestine Action activists — Samuel Corner, 23; Charlotte Head, 30; Leona Kamio, 30; and Fatema Rajwani, 21 — over their involvement in a raid on an Elbit Systems UK factory in Bristol on Aug. 6, 2024.
Prosecutors said the group used a prison van as a “battering ram” to enter the site before spraying red paint from fire extinguishers and using crowbars and sledgehammers to damage computers, drones and other equipment, causing an estimated £1 million ($1.34 million) in damage.
The four were convicted of criminal damage following a retrial last month.
Although they were acquitted of aggravated burglary in an earlier trial, Justice Johnson ruled that the Bristol action had a “terrorist connection,” a finding that could result in more severe sentences.
Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest military manufacturer, operates several offices and production facilities in Britain and elsewhere. The company produces communication systems, surveillance technologies, and unmanned aerial and ground vehicles.
Campaigners and civil liberties groups criticized the use of terrorism legislation in the case.
“Today’s sentencing hearing risks marking a new low in the ongoing crackdown against protest across the UK. Criminal damage has never been treated as terrorism within the UK justice system before, and it is completely disproportionate to do so because the offense occurred at a protest,” said Kerry Moscogiuri, chief executive of Amnesty International UK.
“A terrorism sentence carries restrictions that stay with a person for the rest of their life. We should all be worried about what this means for other individuals taking direct action in protest at a genocide or any other issue. After all, the right to protest is one of the most effective tools we have to hold our leaders to account,” she added.
“The use of terrorism laws to suppress direct action protesters sets a dangerous precedent for our fundamental rights in this country and must come to an end,” Moscogiuri said.
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