Palestine Action activists seek to overturn sentences after being jailed for causing £1.2m in damages

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The incident also involved an assault on a police officer, where officer Kate Evans was left with a fractured spine

Four Palestine Action activists jailed after causing an estimated £1.2million in damage during a raid on an Israel-based defence company’s UK facility are to ask the Court of Appeal to reconsider their sentences, their solicitor has said.

Charlotte Head, 30, Samuel Corner, 24, Leona Kamio, 31, and Fatema Rajwani, 22, were convicted after entering the Elbit Systems site near Bristol in August 2024, using sledgehammers and crowbars to damage computers, drones and other equipment.

The incident also involved an assault on a police officer, where Corner – a former Oxford University student – struck officer Kate Evans twice with a seven-pound sledgehammer, causing a fractured spine.

In June, Mr Justice Johnson sentenced Corner to seven years and eight months in prison for criminal damage and causing grievous bodily harm.

Meanwhile, Head and Kamio each received five-year sentences, while Rajwani was jailed for four years and eight months for criminal damage.

The case is understood to be the first in which convictions for criminal damage have been treated as having a terrorist connection.

At a press conference today, solicitor Simon Natas said the four defendants would seek permission to challenge what he described as “excessive” sentences.

He argued the judge had been wrong in law to classify the activists’ actions as an act of terrorism.

As a result of the classification, the defendants must serve at least two-thirds of their sentences before becoming eligible for release, rather than being considered for earlier release under standard rules.

Their release will also involve consideration by the Parole Board.

Following imprisonment, they will spend an additional year on licence and face terrorist notification requirements for 15 years.

The Court of Appeal confirmed an application for permission to appeal had been received and was being prepared for consideration by a single judge.

Permission must be granted before an appeal against the sentences can proceed.

Mr Natas, who said he had represented protesters for more than 15 years, including members of Extinction Rebellion, argued direct action in previous protest cases had not been treated as terrorism.

He said the activists had not intended to influence the Government or intimidate the public but instead sought to damage equipment they believed was destined for use in international conflict.

The families of the defendants also spoke at a press conference today.

Sukaina Rajwani, Fatema Rajwani’s mother, said her daughter had spent a week in solitary confinement and faced restrictions on prison visits.

Emma Kamio, the mother of Leona Kamio, said her daughter had been working as a nursery teacher and had been motivated by the deaths of children in Gaza.

Human rights barrister Michael Mansfield KC, who has worked on cases including the Stephen Lawrence murder and Grenfell Tower fire, also criticised the sentences, arguing defendants could be sentenced as terrorists without a jury determining that allegation.

Charlotte Head, writing from prison, said the case had been “politically manipulated” to support the Government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action – ruled a terrorist organisation by the Government on July 5, 2025, almost a year after the Elbit Systems raid.