Key facts
- Four activists face potential terrorism-related sentencing for actions against an Israeli arms manufacturer in Bristol.
- The activists were charged with criminal damage, not terrorism offenses, and were not tried under terrorism laws.
- A judge ruled a 'terrorism connection' may exist because the activists aimed to influence the Israeli government.
- Around 100 public figures, including Sally Rooney and Greta Thunberg, have signed an open letter protesting the potential sentencing.
- The signatories argue that imposing terrorism charges at sentencing for criminal damage would be a grave miscarriage of justice.
Around 100 public figures, including author Sally Rooney, climate activist Greta Thunberg, and actors Brian Cox and Steve Coogan, have signed an open letter warning against the imposition of terrorism-related sentences on four activists. The activists, identified as Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, and Fatema Zainab Rajwani, are part of the 'Filton 25' group.
In August 2024, these activists broke into the Bristol premises of Elbit Systems, a UK arm of an Israeli arms manufacturer. They were subsequently charged with offences including criminal damage. Two other activists involved in the incident were cleared of charges.
Middle East Eye reported that the court intends to add a 'terrorism connection' to the charges during sentencing, a detail that was not disclosed to the jury during the trial. This potential addition could lead to aggravated sentences, even though the defendants were not originally charged with or tried under terrorism laws.
In March 2025, presiding judge Justice Jeremy Johnson ruled that a 'terrorist connection' appeared to exist because the activists' actions were aimed at influencing the Israeli government by restricting its access to weapons. The open letter argues that bypassing the jury to sentence protesters as terrorists would be a grave miscarriage of justice.
Signatories, including actors Zoe Wanamaker, Miriam Margolyes, and Zawe Ashton, along with musicians Charlotte Church and Kate Nash, and directors Yorgos Lanthimos, Terry Gilliam, and Ken Loach, stated that imposing a terrorism link at the sentencing stage for a criminal damage case is unprecedented and would undermine civil liberties and the right to protest.
The four activists are awaiting sentencing on June 12. Most have already spent 18 months on remand. Rooney stated that protest posing no threat to the public is not terrorism and that this action undermines UK law.