Four UK Palestine Action activists appeal against terrorism sentencing

Fatima Zainab was arrested a day after she turned 20 for destroying and dismantling 40 quadcopter drones that were ready to be shipped to Israel.

Two years later, instead of completing her degree in Film and Media, she, along with three other comrades, was sentenced as a terrorist in a move described as setting a dangerous precedent.

Fatema Zainab Rajwani, Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner and Leona Kamio are all members of Palestine Action, a direct-action group that was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2025.

As the activists remain behind bars, almost two months after being sentenced as terrorists, they are calling for their sentences to be overturned.

"My experiences with the British legal system for the past 2 years in my struggle for justice for Fatema Zainab had prepared me to expect the worst at sentencing," Sukaina Rajwani, Fatema Zainab's mother, told The New Arab.

"However, this had not prepared me for the shock I felt when Justice Johnson announced my daughter and her co-defendants as terrorists and read off their lengthy sentences."

"The injustice of it all was so very blatant and obvious, that I was surprised the courts even allowed it to happen."

In a press conference held in London on Thursday, representatives of four of the six activists announced the appeal, arguing the conviction breaches Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as Palestine Action was not a proscribed organisation at the time of the offence.

Speakers included the activists' mothers, including Sukaina, and their legal representatives.

The appeal challenges the evidence admitted, the finding of a terrorist connection, the compatibility and application of the relevant law, the fairness of the procedure, the severity of the sentences, and the judge's impartiality in one defendant's sentencing.

Simon Natas, a partner at ITN solicitors representing the four Palestine Action prisoners, said the "important aspect" of the appeal is the finding of a "terrorist connection" pursuant to section 69 Sentencing Act 2000.

"The sentencing judge decided that the Filton 4’s actions amounted to serious damage to property. We say this was wrong," Simon Natas told The New Arab.

"To be honest, I am disillusioned with the British justice system and not really sure I hold a lot of faith in it anymore. That said, I would be very glad to be proved wrong on appeal," Rajwani said when asked for her thoughts on the appeal.

Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio, and Fatema Zainab Rajwani were found guilty of criminal damage "with a terrorist connection", the first time in British legal history that criminal damage convictions were sentenced as terrorism.

The terrorism sentencing increased the length of their sentences, meaning they would likely serve their full sentences in prison and would have to be registered as terrorists for up to 15 years.

Charlotte Head and Ellie Kamio were both sentenced to 5 years and 320 days. Fatema Zainab Rajwani was sentenced to 5 years and 200 days. Samuel Corner was sentenced to a combined eight years and eight months, including grievous bodily harm.

A further two activists, Zoe Rogers and Jordan Devlin, were acquitted.

Judge Justice Johnson's decision was based on the "serious property damage" clause of the Terrorism Act 2000", claiming that the damage to the weapons was done to "influence the government" and "intimidate a section of the public [Elbit Systems]".

The solicitor explained that whether damage is serious under the Terrorism Act should not depend on the value of the damage or the nature of what was damaged, but whether the damage involved the use of serious violence, whether it was designed to create a climate of extreme fear and whether it was intended to undermine the foundations of government.

"The test for whether property damage can amount to terrorism is a very high one. We say that that test was not met in this case," Natas explained.

"We also say that the damage was not caused with the intention of influencing the government or intimidating the public. The sole intention was to damage weapons to prevent them from being exported to Israel."

He also added that several of the defendants provided evidence that they took direct action only because they believed the government could not be influenced on the issue.

The move to add "terror" charges was kept secret from the public and was done without the knowledge of the jurors, who only convicted the activists under criminal damage.

"The sentencing of Fatema Zainab and her co-defendants - direct actionists as terrorists is unprecedented in British history," Rajwani asserted. "It sets a horrific template for future protestors and actionists who could be convicted of criminal damage with no terror charges and then sentenced as terrorists."

"This should be a wake-up call for anyone that cares for free speech and democracy to fight tooth and nail to challenge this terror sentencing."

Johnson has been accused of bias against the activists, especially after the contempt-of-court action against Head's lawyer, Rajiv Menon KC.

The direct action caused damage to 40 weapons inside Elbit's Israeli weapons facility, including quadcopter drones.

The weapons manufacturer has been a constant target of the direct-action group over their ties with Israel, with its weapons being used in its genocidal war on Gaza.

Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in June 2025 after a group of activists spray-painted a Royal Air Force aircraft, making it now a crime to support the organisation.

The ban and the terrorism sentencing have been condemned by rights groups and the United Nations experts over the right to protest.