Public Figures Warn UK Court Over Terror-Linked Sentencing in Protest Case

(MENAFN) More than 100 prominent individuals have appealed to a UK court to avoid applying terrorism-related sentencing measures against four activists convicted in connection with a protest at an Israeli arms manufacturing facility, warning that such a move would represent a serious injustice.

In an open letter released Tuesday, a broad group of writers, actors, academics, politicians and musicians called on Judge Jeremy Johnson to remove what they described as a “terrorism connection” from the sentencing process involving Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio and Fatema Zainab Rajwani, members of a group known as the Filton 25.

According to reports, the four campaigners were convicted by a jury of criminal damage following a 2024 protest action at an Elbit Systems UK site near Bristol.

The signatories argued that although the activists were found guilty of criminal damage, the jury was never informed that terrorism-related provisions could later be considered during sentencing, despite the absence of any terrorism charges in the case.

“To bypass the jury and sentence a group of protesters as terrorists would constitute an extremely grave miscarriage of justice, with consequences far beyond this case alone,” the letter stated.

According to reports, the letter's authors warned that applying terrorism-linked sentencing measures in the case could have wider implications for protest rights and the treatment of political activism in the UK, urging the court to ensure that sentencing remains consistent with the offenses for which the defendants were convicted.

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