Palestine Action activists jailed over Bristol Elbit factory raid

Key Points:

• Four Palestine Action activists were jailed for causing £1.2 million in damage during a raid on the Elbit Systems factory near Bristol in August 2024, with sentences ranging from four years and eight months to seven years and eight months.
• Samuel Corner received the longest sentence after being convicted of criminal damage and inflicting grievous bodily harm on a police sergeant, who suffered a fractured spine and ongoing trauma from the attack.
• The court classified the convictions as connected to terrorism, marking a rare instance where criminal damage charges were linked to terrorism due to the intent to influence the government.
• The activists livestreamed the raid to social media, which the judge criticized as glorifying criminality, and all four will serve an additional year on licence after their prison terms without early release eligibility.
• Following the sentencing, around 500 protesters gathered in support of Palestine Action, leading to 107 arrests and police issuing a dispersal order amid attempts to block a prison van carrying the defendants.