The jury have returned verdicts at Woolwich Crown Court.
Lottie, Sam, Ellie and Fatema-Zainab have been found guilty of criminal damage against Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer. Sam has been found guilty of GBH without intent, meaning the jury accepted he never intended to cause serious injury.
Zoe and Jordan have now been found NOT GUILTY of all charges.
Lottie, Ellie, Fatema Zainab, and Sam have been remanded to prison again despite the prosecution not applying to do so before sentencing. Instead the judge decided to do so all on his own. The repressive retrial has been manipulated to secure conviction of people who directly intervened in a genocide to save lives.
Our hearts ache as we waved good bye to our loved ones once again, but once again we will stand with them and fight for their freedom.
Save the date for mobilisation:
Ellie, Lottie, Fatema Zainab and Sam will be sentenced on the 12th June 2026.
Free the Filton 24 and Free Palestine!!
Press Conference outside the court:
See below speeches from Zoe, Jordan, Zoe’s Mum and Dr Asim Qureshi from Cage International outside the court:
Claire Hinchcliffe’s Statement (Zoe’s Mum):
“After over 14 hours of deliberation, the jury found Zoe Rogers and Jordan Devlin not guilty of criminal damage, and convicted Samuel Corner, Charlotte Head, Leona (Ellie) Kamio and Fatema Zainab Rajwani of criminal damage. Two were acquitted despite all of them admitting to damaging Israeli military drones inside the Elbit factory.
We do not blame the jury for these convictions, as they were kept in the dark throughout. This has been a political persecution from the very beginning. We can not tell you what the jurors were forbidden from hearing. However, we can categorically say they did not hear the whole truth and this was not a fair trial.
The jury also found Samuel Corner not guilty of Grevious Bodily Harm with intent against a police officer, and convicted him of the lower offence of Grevious Bodily Harm without intent. This means the jury did not accept that Samuel Corner intended to seriously injure the police officer.
The court heard that Sam was trying to protect Ellie Kamio, who he believed was being seriously injured. Moments before the incident, Samuel was blinded by PAVA spray and reacted in the moment as heard Ellie Kamio screaming after she had been tasered twice (the second time by accident). Shortly after the incident, he said “I was protecting her”. The court heard how the police officer was swiftly discharged from the hospital, with a recommendation of pain killers and physiotherapy.
At the beginning of the first trial, they were each facing three charges: aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage. They were all acquitted of aggravated burglary and violent disorder. In the end, four out of six were convicted in the end of criminal damage, despite them all standing strong together and admitting to all damaging Israeli weapons.
The Judge remanded Charlotte Head, Ellie Kamio, Samuel Corner and Fatema Zainab Rajwani ahead of their sentencing. This is despite the prosecution not seeking to remand them.
They’ve all already served the equivalence of a near 4year sentence, which is the upper limit of a sentence for a criminal damage conviction for a first time offence.
They all went into this trial with their heads held high and with the knowledge that no matter the verdict, by destroying Israeli military drones, their action likely saved lives in Palestine. As Rajiv Menon KC said in the first trial, this is not a factory that makes fluffy toys. They specialise in producing weapons which obliverate Palestinians in Gaza and destroy their communities.
All six of the defendants took the courageous decision to destroy those weapons to try and stop a genocide. We are proud of every single one of them.
Zoe’s Statement:
Since the beginning of our case we have been used to justify the proscription of Palestine Action.
What began as an ordinary direct action spiralled into unprecedented arrests for terrorism, enforced disappearances, 18 months in prison.
Like during the trial, I’m am still being silenced, and unable to tell you much of what we went through, and what may happen. But I can tell you about Elbit systems.
Elbit systems is Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, making drones on British soil to kill people abroad. Drones we found inside the factory included Thor VTOL quadcopter drones, which are used to drop grenades, drones that are advertised as battle tested on Palestinians. As well as Magni x Surveillance drones. Israel’s surveillance drones work in tandem with AI to pick out targets, while a soldier far away spends an average of 7 seconds deciding if that person gets to live or die.
My co-defendants should be outside here with me. I don’t blame the jury for their decision as the truth was withheld from them throughout the trial. This is a miscarriage of justice and the litmus test has been failed for democracy and rule of law in this country. Please show up for their sentencing hearing on the 12th of June and keep showing up for Palestine as the genocide continues.
Jordan’s Statement:
Today I was acquitted of criminal damage after telling the jury I damaged Elbit’s drones and it was an honour. The missing CCTV used to hide the crimes of the security including when I was struck in the face with a sledgehammer has backfired and will have played a role in my acquittal.
It is a travesty of justice that my co-defendants aren’t here with me as the damage to Elbit weapons they’re accused of was to save Palestinian lives.
Interview with Jordan in The Guardian: