Mother speaks of joy and relief after daughter freed in UK Palestine Action case

For more than a year, Clare Hinchcliffe watched her daughter, Zoe Rogers, move in and out of custody as she stood trial over direct action at an Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol.

Rogers was one of six activists charged over a protest at Elbit's Filton site, facing counts of aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage, all of which they denied.

"Oh my goodness, it's been so stressful," Hinchcliffe told The New Arab. "I feel like I've been living at Woolwich Crown Court. This trial has been going on forever."

Last week, a jury cleared all six defendants of aggravated burglary. Jurors were unable to reach verdicts on the criminal damage charges after more than 36 hours of deliberation.

"That is an incredible result," Hinchcliffe said. "We had to behave ourselves in the public gallery, but as soon as the judge left the courtroom, we were on our feet, hugging, crying, screaming. It was overwhelming."

Relief quickly gave way to tension as the families waited to hear whether the activists would be allowed home. After several more hours, the judge granted bail to all but one defendant.

"We were just sitting there thinking, are they really coming home after 18 gruelling months?" Hinchcliffe said. "When the judge finally granted bail, I honestly couldn't believe it."

"Even when Zoe walked out of the courtroom, I kept thinking this can't be real," she added. "You just keep pinching yourself."

Hinchcliffe said she later retreated to a quiet room and cried. "I didn't realise how much I'd been holding in."

When Zoe returned home, members of the local community had decorated the house with yellow ribbons, a symbol historically associated with soldiers returning from war and hostages being released.

"We had to walk through the ribbons to get to the front door," Hinchcliffe said. "There were gifts left outside and a banner the community had made for us. It was incredibly moving."

Exhausted, Hinchcliffe said she woke repeatedly during the night, trying to process what had happened. When she went to check on her daughter, she found Zoe asleep in her sister's bed.

"She was curled up with her sister, fast asleep," she said. "It was such a tender moment."

Zoe is now lying low, her mother said, as she remains anxious about complying with strict bail conditions.

"She's nervous about making a mistake and being taken back to prison," Hinchcliffe said. "We're not putting any pressure on her at all."

While the family is reunited for now, Zoe will face a retrial on the unresolved charges at a later date. In the meantime, she is preparing to start university after her course was deferred for two years.

"She worked so hard to secure her place," Hinchcliffe said. "She's a voracious reader. She's become deeply interested in human rights, justice, politics, and sociology. She's constantly reading and thinking about how the world could be better."

Hinchcliffe said her daughter was driven to direct action after witnessing Israel's war on Gaza unfold in real time.

"She went on marches, wrote to her MP, joined campaigns, designed stickers to raise awareness," she said. "But she felt none of it was making a difference, because the government was determined to keep partnering with Israel."

After learning about direct action, Zoe joined Palestine Action.

While the so-called Filton Six have avoided conviction so far, the fate of 18 other activists remains uncertain. Many are still being held in prison, with their cases split across multiple trials that have yet to be heard.

Human rights organisations and campaign groups have called for their release, arguing that some defendants have spent up to 17 months in custody without conviction, and urging courts to grant bail pending trial.