Rajiv Menon KC

Palestine Action barrister’s prosecution criticised as ‘chilling’

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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/23/palestine-action-trial-lawyer-prosecution-criticised-rajiv-menon-kc

Menon is accused of breaching a judge’s directions in the trial of six people over a protest in 2024. Photograph: Garden Court Chambers

CBA chair says contempt charge over closing speech by Rajiv Menon KC has left lawyers fearful of doing their job

The prosecution of a leading human rights barrister for contempt of court over his closing speech during a trial of Palestine Action activists has left lawyers fearful of doing their job, the chair of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has said.

Rajiv Menon KC, who was acting for the defence, is due to stand trial next week, accused of breaching the judge’s directions in the trial of six people for a direct action protest at an arms factory of the Israeli subsidiary Elbit Systems UK in Filton, near Bristol, in 2024.

On Wednesday, senior legal figures criticised the prosecution of Menon, believed to be the first barrister to be prosecuted over remarks made during a closing speech.

Riel Karmy-Jones KC, the chair of the CBA, told the online meeting: “We have heard of barristers changing their speeches or being told to change them – including in cases where no direction has been given by a judge. And that really can’t be ignored, because people at the criminal bar have become uncertain and scared of what they can and can’t say; scared that somehow they might be – at the end of a trial where they have faithfully represented their client themselves – facing a charge of criminal contempt.

“It is starting to feel like it’s about the politics of the subject matter of the trial, rather than the core principles of how a barrister represents his client.”

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Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/23/palestine-action-trial-lawyer-prosecution-criticised-rajiv-menon-kc

Continue ReadingPalestine Action barrister’s prosecution criticised as ‘chilling’

Palestine Action Defendants Apply to Remove ‘Biased’ Judge

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https://novaramedia.com/2026/06/05/palestine-action-defendants-apply-to-remove-biased-judge/

A supporter holds a sign outside the high court that reads ‘We are all Palestine Action’, 4 July 2025,Martin Pope/ZUMA Press Wire

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/

Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine 'Private Eye'.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.
Continue ReadingPalestine Action Defendants Apply to Remove ‘Biased’ Judge

Palestine Action barrister wins appeal in contempt case

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https://www.declassifieduk.org/palestine-action-barrister-wins-appeal-in-contempt-case/

A protest outside Woolwich Crown Court where the Palestine Action activists were tried (Photo: Alamy)

Rajiv Menon KC faced proceedings which his chambers said were unprecedented in English legal history

A leading human rights barrister has won his appeal against contempt of court proceedings, which were levelled at him for a closing speech in the trial of Palestine Action activists. 

The court of appeal’s ruling on Tuesday in the case of Rajiv Menon KC comes as it has also emerged that four of the defendants found guilty in a retrial can be sentenced as terrorists.

Three court of appeal judges found that the trial judge, Mr Justice Johnson, “had no jurisdiction” to refer the case against Menon to the High Court. 

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Campaign group Defend Our Juries (DoJ) said: “Rajiv Menon KC did what every defence barrister should be free to do – in discharging his duty to his client: he told a jury the truth about their own rights.”

“The fact that contempt of court proceedings were even brought against a barrister for his closing speech – for the first time in British legal history – should deeply concern everyone who cares about the rule of law,” the group added.

Menon had been accused of violating Johnson’s orders in the first trial of six activists who broke into an Israeli-owned arms factory near Bristol in 2024 at the height of the Gaza genocide.

He barred the lawyers from inviting the jury to disregard the court’s ruling of law or to acquit the defendants on the basis of conscience, known as the principle of jury equity.

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Original article at https://www.declassifieduk.org/palestine-action-barrister-wins-appeal-in-contempt-case/

Keir Starmer says that he's banning words and phrases now as well as placards.
Keir Starmer says that he’s banning words and phrases now as well as placards.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine 'Private Eye'.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.
Keir Starmer confirms that he doesn't know anything about democracy.
Keir Starmer confirms that he doesn’t know anything about democracy.
Continue ReadingPalestine Action barrister wins appeal in contempt case