Four members of the pro‑Palestinian group Palestine Action have been convicted of criminal damage for a 2024 raid on El Bit Systems’ defence facility in Filton, Bristol. The Woolwich Crown Court found Charlotte Head, 30, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21 and Samuel Corner, 23 guilty of destroying equipment that the activists said was destined for the Israeli military’s campaign in Gaza. Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31 were acquitted. Sentencing is due on 12 June.
On 6 August 2024 the four defendants drove a decommissioned prison van through the gates of El Bit’s Filton plant, then used sledgehammers and crowbars to smash computers, drones and other components. Security staff and police intervened, and a clash resulted in injuries to a police sergeant. The damage was estimated at about £1 million ($1.36 million).
During the trial the defendants admitted to the destruction but denied the criminal‑damage offense, arguing that they acted to “save lives in Palestine” by disabling equipment they believed would be used to kill civilians in Gaza. Corner was also convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Sgt Kate Evans after striking her with a sledgehammer, fracturing her spine. He received a lesser conviction for the assault, avoiding a life sentence. The jury deliberated for more than 14 hours before reaching its decisions.
El Bit Systems operates several sites across the United Kingdom and has repeatedly denied that any of its UK‑based production is supplied to the Israeli Defence Forces. Media investigations, however, have linked components from El Bit subsidiaries to Israeli military applications. The Filton raid contributed to the UK government’s decision in 2025 to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. A February 2026 High Court ruling declared the ban unlawful, though the designation remains in effect pending a final judgment.
The convictions underscore ongoing legal scrutiny of activist actions targeting companies alleged to support Israel’s war in Gaza. The upcoming sentencing will determine the maximum penalties faced by the four activists, while the broader debate over the UK’s role in the conflict and the legal status of Palestine Action continues.
