‘More outrageous than proscription.’
by Harriet Williamson 12 May 2026
A court will seek to sentence four Palestine Action activists found guilty of criminal damage at a site owned by Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer as terrorists, even though they were not convicted of terror charges, Novara Media is now able to report.
The ‘terror connection’ was kept secret from the jury and UK media outlets were barred from reporting on this due to court-imposed restrictions, which were lifted on 12 May. This is believed to be the first case in British history where a court will attempt to sentence activists taking direct action as terrorists.
Judge Jeremy Johnson is expected to add a ‘terrorist connection’ to the charges of Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona (Ellie) Kamio and Fatema Rajwani under section 69 of the Sentencing Act 2020, despite the jury only convicting them of criminal damage and having no knowledge that a terror link could be later imposed.
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Being sentenced as terrorists means the defendants could face significantly longer time in prison and be listed as terrorists upon release – imposing severe limitations on their lives. Most have already served 18 months on remand, with Corner incarcerated for 21 months.
In a preparatory hearing back in March 2025, the judge ruled that there appeared to be a ‘terrorist connection’ as the activists were attempting to influence the Israeli government by restricting its access to weapons.
Judge Johnson said: “On s1(1)(b) of the Terrorism Act 2000, Rajiv Menon KC and others strongly argued that influencing government was not the purpose of the action – the purpose of the action was to damage weapons and save lives. I accept that this was one motivating factor – but that does not mean that another purpose was not to damage property to be made available to the Israeli government and thereby influence the Israeli government.”
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