DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THE FILTON 25

by Amina Abdel-Khaliq, Lanarkshire Action Network for Palestine

JUSTICE IS A CORE TENET OF DEMOCRACY.

We live in a democracy, or so it is claimed, but the erosion of the British justice system is so insidious that you would be forgiven for not noticing its stealthy decay.

In late 2023, Israel commenced its genocidal campaign in Gaza. Tens of thousands of people slaughtered in a last-ditch attempt at eradicating the native people, further advancing its settler colonial project, backed, supported and funded by the West.

Palestine activists marched, demonstrated, protested, lobbied to no avail. Our government did not listen. Why would they? They are fully complicit.

Elbit Systems is an Israeli owned weapons manufacturer that operates internationally, including on UK soil. They produce up to 85% of drones and land based military equipment. Battle tested on Palestinians. Quadcopter drones sinisterly mimic sounds of children crying and open fire when the beleaguered people of Gaza come to help.

In August 2024 a group of direct actionists allegedly broke into the Elbit Systems factory in Filton, Bristol.

Shortly after, these actionists were arrested by counter-terrorism police and were remanded in custody for up to eighteen months, three times the legal limit for remand prisoners.

Counter terrorism? Hold on… young activists, humanitarian, nursery teachers, artists, Oxford graduates, being treated as terrorists? All for allegedly trying to stop genocide.

Palestine Action was also not a proscribed organisation at this point [See footnote] yet counter-terrorism legislation was used against them. Why?

18 months on remand for being humane

It was clear at the outset that the UK Government had a vested interest in making examples of these principled individuals in order to stifle further attempts at direct action for Palestine. The Filton 6 became the Filton 18, 24 and now 25, as Lewie Chiaramello has now been charged in relation to the Filton action.

The Filton 25 are to be tried in several groups of six-eight. The first trial has been and gone. Starting in November 2025 and ending this February, a jury found all six defendants, Lottie Head, Fatima
Rajwani, Jordan Devlin, Zoe Rogers, Ellie Kamio and Samuel Corner not guilty of aggravated burglary and a mixture of not guilty and no verdict for the remaining charges of criminal damage and violent disorder.

Samuel Corner faced an additional charge of GBH (later found guilty of the lesser charge of GBH without intent) and remained remanded in custody while his five co-defendants were bailed, setting the precedent for the remaining Filton activists to also be released from jail.

False hope of justice

Ecstatic euphoria was palpable across the Palestine movement and bold chants of ‘We believe that we have won’ echoed the streets outside prisons and courts. The freedom of the first Filton 5, however, was short-lived as the CPS decided to waste more taxpayers’ money and pushed for a retrial.

The retrial took place in April 2026, and a jury found four out of the six defendants guilty of criminal damage (bizarrely, the other two were found not guilty despite being charged for the same crimes at the same location). ‘Jury equity’ for conscientious actions denied Judge Johnson, who presided over the trial, instructed the jury that they could not apply jury equity — which allows jury members to acquit on grounds of conscience if they believe the defendants were morally correct in carrying out their actions, even if the evidence is against them.

Ironically, it was Keir Starmer, then barrister who in 2003 applied the defence of jury equity in the Fairford 5 trial, when he successfully represented anti-war activists who broke into RAF Fairford to de-activate military equipment in the run up to the Iraq war.

Judge Johnson also held back key evidence from the jury, such as who Elbit Systems were and why they were being targeted. It was also not disclosed to the jury that if found guilty a ‘terror connection’ could be applied at sentencing, potentially carrying a sentence of up to 10 years. If this happens, it will be the first case in British legal history for people guilty of criminal damage to be sentenced as terrorists.

Resist this corrupt system

So Ellie, Fatima and Lottie were sent back to prison at the direction of Judge Johnson, even against the wishes of the prosecution to await sentencing on 12 June. The next Filton trial is set for 15 June for Hannah, Maddie, Teuta, Will, Ian, Yulia, Alecks and Sean.

The corrupt system is determined to punish these courageous souls as much as they can. It is up to us, the people, to not let that happen. We must continue this fight for justice.

• In February 2026, the High Court ruled the proscription of Palestine Action disproportionate and unlawful. The Government have appealed this decision. See filtonactionists.com for updates.