https://novaramedia.com/2026/06/05/palestine-action-defendants-apply-to-remove-biased-judge/
He is expected to sentence four activists as terrorists.
Four Palestine Action activists found guilty of criminal damage want to remove a judge accused of bias from their case after it was revealed he will seek to sentence them as terrorists.
Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson is also the subject of a formal complaint filed by campaign group Defend Our Juries (DOJ) to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office today, alleging biased and discriminatory conduct.
The application for him to be recused from sentencing activists Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona (Ellie) Kamio, 30, and Fatema Rajwani, 21, will be heard on Monday 8 June.
Justice Johnson is expected to add a ‘terrorist connection’ to their charges under section 69 of the Sentencing Act 2020, despite the jury only convicting them of criminal damage under ordinary criminal law on 5 May. The judge’s plan was kept secret from both the jury and the public, while reporting restrictions were imposed on the UK press.
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The defence’s bid to remove Justice Johnson is in part due to his unprecedented attempt to have the lead defence barrister, Rajiv Menon KC, prosecuted for contempt of court – a move described as “troubling” by the Bar Council.
Menon – who won his appeal against contempt proceedings – was alleged to have breached the judge’s direction that lawyers were not permitted in their closing speeches to invite the jury to acquit on the basis of conscience, a principle known as jury equity. Justice Johnson could still refer Menon to the attorney-general to decide whether to initiate contempt proceedings.
DOJ’s formal complaint against Justice Johnson, signed by more than 3,000 people including lawyers, law professors, retired police officers and magistrates, alleges that decisions taken by the judge “amount to a pattern of exceptional, biased and discriminatory conduct”.
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https://novaramedia.com/2026/06/05/palestine-action-defendants-apply-to-remove-biased-judge/
