Jailed Palestine Action activist absconds from prison, says he is 'not a terrorist'

A jailed Palestine Action activist has reportedly failed to return to a south London prison after being temporarily granted bail for a family matter, according to UK media reports.

32-year-old Sean Middleborough, from Liverpool, had been held on remand at HMP Wandsworth in connection with Palestine Action and was granted a four-day conditional release to attend his brother’s wedding in late October.

According to The Telegraph, Middleborough was charged last year in relation to a "burglary incident with violent disorder" at an Elbit Systems factory site in the UK. He has spent over a year behind bars, exceeding the six-month pre-custody trial limit.

He reportedly slipped away without his family’s knowledge.

In a statement to The Electronic Intifada, Middleborough stressed his innocence. He said: "I am not on the run. I am merely being sensible, refusing to be held as a prisoner of war of Israel in a British prison."

Middleborough is a member of the Filton 24, a group of Palestine Action activists imprisoned for causing damage to an Elbit Systems factory in Filton, near Bristol, in August last year.

He said that he and his "heroic and honourable co-defendants remain in prison following their kidnapping by counterterrorism police," accusing UK police forces of using counterterrorist tactics during his arrest despite not being charged with any terror offences.

Middleborough spoke of the dismal conditions in prison, saying that he has been "locked up for up to 23 hours a day" without being “offered proper food”.

"We are not terrorists," Middlebrough told The Electronic Intifada. "I oppose terror and tyranny in all forms. When we witness a British-backed genocide of the Palestinian people, it is our moral and legal duty to act against it."

Since his failure to return to HMP Wandsworth, Middleborough has become the subject of "an urgent police search," according to The Telegraph.

Elbit Systems, the Israeli military defence contractor and military technology company, has been the target of Palestine Action's activism over the years. The group's activists have occupied and vandalised multiple Elbit sites in the UK, to protest British complicity in Israel’s occupation and wars in the Palestinian territories.

Earlier this year, the British government designated Palestine Action as a terror group under the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000, following an incident in which members of the group sprayed red paint on planes at a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire. Being a member of the group or expressing support can land someone up to 14 years in jail.

The UK government's move triggered condemnation from pro-Palestine activists and politicians, notably MP Zarah Sultana.

Frequent protests were held in London and other parts of the UK, which witnessed the mass arrests of demonstrators, many of whom held signs saying: "We are all Palestine Action" and "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action".

More than 2,000 people have been arrested for expressing support for the group.

Additionally, at least six individuals imprisoned for offences relating to Palestine Action are currently on hunger strike in protest against prison conditions and the UK’s proscription of the group.

In another development, the Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice found in a review that the UK's counterterrorism laws used  to proscribe Palestine Action can create "uncertainty and overreach in its application" as the actions constituting terrorism are "too broad," The Guardian said.

"These far-reaching implications can create confusion, deter lawful civic engagement, and strain relations with communities connected to affected organisations – particularly where banned groups also pursue political objectives," the report said.

The report, published on Tuesday, also said that the UK's terror laws should only be used to protect from terrorism, and that proscriptions should end every five years, unless renewed.

The commission has now called for increased parliamentary scrutiny of decisions to proscribe groups.