Judge acquits two Palestine Action activists after they shut Elbit down
JVL Introduction
Palestine Action is a network of groups and individuals established to take direct action against properties owned by Israel’s biggest arms firm Elbit Systems.
You can find links to some of its actions on our website here, here and here.
In the latest Elbit development a magistrate in Walsall has acquitted two people charged with wilful obstruction of the highway, finding that their action was proportionate in comparison to the crimes against humanity which they were acting to stop.
This is an important development. In recent climate justice trials, for example, a concerted effort has been made to debar this line of defence.
It represents a welcome breach in the tightening repression of activists and protestors of all kinds we have been witnessing in recent years.
This article was originally published by Palestine Action on Wed 30 Aug 2023. Read the original here.
Judge acquits two Palestine Action activists after they shut Elbit down
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A bit of good news for once is heartily welcome! And the information unearthed thanks to the ICO is very welcome too.
This May was the first attempt to hold a very ambitious MONTH-LONG demonstration at the Elbit site aimed at closing the place down. It was a fairly well-supported protest, though in need of more effective back-up from qualified legal advisors at the site itself to monitor / check the behaviour of the police and assist the demonstrators.
Although it is not clear from the above article it would appear that the two activists were not charged with criminal damage but only with obstruction of the highway and therefore fell within the remit of the Supreme Court’s decision in Ziegler.
However the Court of Appeal, as a result of the Attorney General’s referral of the Colston case, ruled that criminal damage does not fall under the remit of proportionality as per the European Convention of Human Rights, which is the problem we faced in our case at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Of course today, as a result of the new Public Order Act that Starmer refused to oppose, it is unlikely that they would succeed today since locking on is now a criminal offence in itself
Excellent news. Well done Palestine Action.