‘Very unusual’: UK Palestine activists could be sentenced as terrorists

Preston, United Kingdom – Five Palestine Action activists in the UK are set to hear whether terrorism-linked offences could be included in their sentencing.

Key points

• According to leading criminal lawyer Raj Chada, of the firm Hodge Jones & Allen.
• Huda Ammori, Palestine Action co-founder, has called Altham's involvement in the case "shocking".
• The activists were protesting the bank's shareholdings in the Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems.
• On Friday, Preston Crown Court is projected to determine whether the five activists.
• Plenty of of these arrests have arisen through repeated mass sit-ins in central London's Parliament Square, where protesters held signs reading, "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action."

Brendon O'Hagan, 28, Amanda Kelly, 31, Hmeera Atiqnisar, 31, Mohammed Malik, 28, and Alma Yaniv, 70, were convicted of causing 212, 000 pounds ($290, 000) in damages during a direct action against a branch of Barclays Bank in the town of Burnley in Lancashire in August 2024. The activists were protesting the bank's shareholdings in the Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems.

On Friday, Preston Crown Court is projected to determine whether the five activists. This person are scheduled to be sentenced on September 4, will face terrorism sentencing.

According to leading criminal lawyer Raj Chada, of the firm Hodge Jones & Allen. It has been involved in defending a number of Palestine Action activists, "terrorist connection" laws date back years, but only appear to have been applied lately and solely in Palestine Action cases.

"Certainly, in our experience, using the law like this is very, very unusual and appears to be being used to target Palestine Action activists whose offence predates the banning of the group, " he remarked.

At the time of their verdicts, Palestine Action had not been proscribed as a terrorist group. Neither the defendants nor the jury were aware that terrorism charges might be involved.

After the verdicts trial judge Philip Parry notified the defendants' legal team that he intended to consider whether the offence carried a "terrorist connection", nevertheless. Parry created a similar move after circulating a ruling from a case in June, during which four Palestine Action activists convicted of criminal damage at Elbit Systems' Filton site near Bristol were sentenced as terrorists almost two years after their protest at Woolwich Crown Court in London.

"To the best of our knowledge, the only time this law was used was in relation to direct action protest groups was against those convicted at Filton, " remarked Chada, outlining laws employed by prosecutors to target the offence rather than the individual or group that had carried it out.

Notably, the activists' supporters have additionally raised questions concerning Robert Altham, the judge who will decide whether to add a "terrorist connection" to criminal damage convictions. His previous sentencing of environmental protesters in September 2018 was afterwards identified by the court of appeal to be "manifestly excessive".

According to the rights group Defend our Juries, more than 3, 500 individuals – numerous over the age of 60 – have been arrested for expressing backing for Palestine Action after it was proscribed by lawmakers in July 2025, placing it on the same legal footing as al-Qaeda and ISIL.

On Friday, a group of "peaceful people" will gather outside Preston Crown Court "to show solidarity with the 'Barclays 5', who Judge Parry moves to sentence as terrorists for spray-painting a bank, " Defend our Juries remarked. "This is despite them facing no terrorism charges, and the jury and the defendants being unaware of potential terrorist sentencing during trial."

"Seeking to prevent the loss of life is not terrorism. Opposing genocide is not terrorism, " the group continued.

In short, 'Very unusual': UK Palestine activists could be sentenced as terrorists is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.