Jurors told to 'avoid emotion' in activists' trial

The judge in the trial of activists who allegedly used sledgehammers as weapons during a break-in at a UK subsidiary of an Israeli defence firm has told jurors to "keep cool heads" and not allow their feelings about the Middle East to influence their verdicts.

Six people are accused of carrying out an attack at Elbit Systems near Bristol on 6 August last year.

The judge told jurors at Woolwich Crown Court that "bias, emotion, sympathy, prejudice... political views" should not feature in their deliberations.

Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, deny charges of aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder.

Summing up, judge Mr Justice Johnson said it was not disputed the defendants entered Elbit's building without permission and carried sledgehammers in the raid claimed by the now proscribed campaign group Palestine Action.

However, they dispute the sledgehammers were "weapons of offence".

"They deny that at the point they entered Elbit's premises they intended to injure or incapacitate anyone," he said.

"They say that the sledgehammers were solely for destroying property and were not in any circumstances intended to injure security staff."

The prosecution previously told the court the group tried to cause as much damage as possible when they broke into the factory dressed in red jumpsuits.

Defendant Head previously told jurors that before the break-in, the six of them agreed that they did not want to use violence.

While Corner denies a further charge of causing Sgt Kate Evans grievous bodily harm, who the court previously heard had suffered a fractured spine.

Mr Justice Johnson told jurors: "There is no dispute that Mr Corner struck Sergeant Evans with a sledgehammer.

"Mr Corner says he was acting in defence of another so that he is not guilty of this charge.

"But he also does not accept that he caused Sergeant Evans really serious harm. And he does not accept that he intended to cause her really serious harm."

Summing up for the prosecution, Deanna Heer KC told jurors that Head and Kamio were involved in planning the action, and along with Corner, Rajwani and Rogers they had "smashed up" equipment in the factory.

She said Head travelled to Manchester on two occasions to obtain a prison van to smash through the factory's perimeter fence and that all of the defendants, except Devlin, admitted to destroying Elbit's property, including drones and computers.

"Rightly or wrongly, these defendants genuinely believed the attack on Elbit that night would help the Palestinian cause in Gaza," she said.

Prosecutors said the group were "willing to go further" than just damaging property and the action was "on a whole different scale" to that which Palestine Action had previously carried out.

"This wasn't just a high-level action. This was high-level action plus plus," Ms Heer told the court.

"Not just to damage property, but also to injure people, if necessary - anyone who got in their way and tried to stop them achieving their goal, which was no less than to shut Elbit down."

The trial continues.

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