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Palestine Action defendants acquitted of aggravated burglary over arms factory raid (www.middleeasteye.net)

submitted 1 week ago by pete_link@lemmy.ml to c/uk_politics@feddit.uk

28 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/42709668

4 February 2026 12:40 GMT

During the trial, the prosecution alleged that the six defendants entered the factory with sledgehammers, intending, if needed, to injure and incapacitate security guards.

But the defendants disputed that the sledgehammers were “weapons of offence”, and insisted they were intended only to damage property.

As the verdicts were being read, the defendants held hands and embraced in the dock, as families and supporters cheered and wept.

The six defendants have been held for around 18 months on remand- exceeding standard UK custodial time limits.

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[–] xodasu@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Good on the jury. After 18 months stuck on remand, these activists finally get a not guilty verdict on the big charges and a court full of supporters got to breathe for a moment. The footage of them holding hands and crying outside court says everything about how brutal pre-trial detention can be.

That said, this whole case stinks of political policing. Holding people for around 18 months, refusing bail because a judge thinks their "mindsets" won't change, and then threatening retrial is a grotesque way to chill protest. If the CPS pushes for another go, it will feel less like seeking justice and more like trying to wear down dissent.

If you care about basic protest rights, watch this space and push back. Long remands and selective prosecutions should worry anyone who thinks civil disobedience still has a place in a democracy.

[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

They were refused bail because they told the judge they would do it again given the opportunity. Hard to see how the judge could come to any other conclusion.