7 Dec
2021
7 Dec
'21
9:33 a.m.
________________________________
From: Palestine Action <info(a)palestineaction.org>
Sent: 06 December 2021 19:55
To: scruffylittlevera(a)hotmail.co.uk <scruffylittlevera(a)hotmail.co.uk>
Subject: BREAKING: Palestine Action Activists Found NOT GUILTY After Defacing Israeli Arms
Company
Factory operated by Solvay, supplying materials and adhesives for Elbit, shut down this
morning
[https://r20.rs6.net/on.jsp?ca=d0395454-1e50-4859-954a-ee7a0a3820f1&a=11…]
[Photo 18-01-2021_ 10 13 30.jpg]
Palestine Action Activists Found NOT GUILTY After Defacing Israeli Arms Company
Three Palestine Action activists, dubbed the ‘Elbit Three’, have today been found not
guilty of criminal damage charges in a trial taking place at Newcastle-under-Lyme
Magistrates Court. The trial, which commenced on Friday 3rd December, saw Elbit Systems
and the Crown Prosecution Service attempt to criminalise individuals who took a stand
against the manufacture of drones and drone parts. The products manufactured at the site
of the protest, the UAV Engines factory in Shenstone, Staffordshire, are key components
for a range of Elbit’s combat drones, used extensively by Israel for bombardments of Gazan
civilians.
Elbit Systems are Israel’s largest private arms company, supplying 85% of Israel’s drone
fleet. Their Hermes drones, manufactured with UK-made components, are regularly deployed
in bombardments of Gaza, with Elbit also supplying a range of surveillance equipment,
armaments, and specialist military technologies for the Israeli military and police.
Palestine Action have undertaken a campaign of sustained direct action against Elbit
Systems – across their 10 sites in the UK – with this action in Shenstone having occured
in January 2021, six months since Palestine Action launched. Despite many dozens of
actions taken, and over £15,000,000 in damages caused (according to police), this is the
first time that activists had faced trial, with all previous charges having been dropped
in the run-up to trial dates.
The presiding judge, Judge Waites, stated that the Crown had failed to prove that
convicting the defendents would be proportionate with their freedom to protest. He stated
further points which included: Palestine is an important issue, the arms trade is an
important issue, the defendants believed in what they were doing, and the location was
specifically chosen. These are the points that Palestine Action has long stated: through
targetted and deliberate direct action, individuals can make a measured impact on the
lives of civilians in Palestine by disrupting and undermining Israel’s arms trade.
For more information, please read our full press release below and share this victory
widely!
Press
Release<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001EyRVouFzenGTOf8OYLypoZpus-pMy5RB…
Donate<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001EyRVouFzenGTOf8OYLypoZpus-pMy5RBs…
Share on
Twitter<https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001EyRVouFzenGTOf8OYLypoZpus-pMy5RB…
Palestine Action | 77 Kingsway, London, United Kingdom
Unsubscribe
scruffylittlevera@hotmail.co.uk<https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001L6wEwRaO-Dwi2RGw4j1XNA%3D&ch=513ae3c8-b264-11eb-a08b-fa163eb6961b&ca=d0395454-1e50-4859-954a-ee7a0a3820f1>
Update
Profile<https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=oo&m=001L6wEwRaO-Dw…
| About Constant
Contact<http://www.constantcontact.com/legal/about-constant-contact>
Sent by info@palestineaction.org<mailto:info@palestineaction.org> in collaboration
with
[Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE
today.]<http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=nge&rmc=VF21_CPE…
Try email marketing for free
today!<http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=nge&rmc=VF21_CPE&…