Palestine Action Activists in UK Sentenced a Combined 20 Years in Prison
June 13, 2026—Four Palestine Action anti-genocide activists received combined prison sentences of over 20 years on June 12, 2026, for sabotaging an Israeli drone facility in the UK in 2024.
Judge Jeremy Johnson said an “aggravating factor” in his decision to imprison the activists was that they had a “terrorist connection.”
In August 2024, the four activists raided the Elbit Systems research and development facility in Filton, near Bristol, causing more than £1 million ($1,342,000) in damage in an attempt to shut it down.
The facility conducts R&D for Tactical Multi-Rotor Quadcopter drones produced for the British Armed Forces and NATO. Elbit produces the same drones in Israel for use in Gaza.
Israeli troops often deploy the drones to kill Palestinian men, women, and children with direct shots to the head and chest.
Elbit also produces Israel’s Hermes Drones, which are used for surveillance and to carry out airstrikes against civilians in Gaza and Lebanon.
During the raid on the Filton facility, the activists used a repurposed prison van as a battering ram to smash through the building’s security gates.
Using sledgehammers and crowbars, they destroyed interior spaces, computers, and military drone components. During the confrontation, activists clashed with site security and police responding to the raid.
The judge sentenced Samuel Corner, 23, to seven years and eight months in total for the two convictions, saying he used “extreme and gratuitous” behavior by striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.
Leona Kamio, 30, and Charlotte Head, 30, were sentenced to five years, while Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, was sentenced to four years and eight months. They will all spend another year on license (parole) after release.
Friday’s sentencing came one month after all four were convicted of criminal damage at Woolwich Crown Court. The group had previously been cleared of aggravated burglary charges.
The activists were driven by Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, which had been happening for ten months prior to their raid and has now resulted in at least 72,600 Palestinian deaths, as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry.
Some independent estimates of the death toll are vastly higher.
Palestine Action was later proscribed under the UK’s terrorism law. However, the High Court in London ruled the decision unlawful. The group remains banned pending a government appeal due Monday.
The judge’s claim of a “terrorism connection” to the activists drew condemnation and ridicule from human rights groups and high-profile supporters.
A group of 100 public figures, including author Sally Rooney, activist Greta Thunberg, and actor Steve Coogan, signed an open letter in support of the anti-genocide activists.
“Criminal damage has never been treated as terrorism within the UK justice system before, and it is dangerous to treat them as the same thing,” said Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive.
“It is completely disproportionate to punish protesters for criminal damage as if they were terrorists, a sentence that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”
As the sentencing was underway, police arrested over 100 people who had gathered outside as part of a larger demonstration in support of Palestine Action and the four imprisoned activists.
—The Cradle.com, June 13, 2026