The “Elbit Three”, a group of British activists who defaced the site of an Israeli arms company, have been acquitted.
In February of 2021 three activists affiliated with the group Palestine Action locked onto the gates of the Elbit subsidiary UAV Engines in Shenstone, Staffordshire and threw red paint on the building. The group targets companies that are “directly complicit in Israel’s ongoing military occupation and subsequent colonization of Palestine.” Elbit is Israel’s largest private arms supplier.
Elbit, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), attempted to hit the group with criminal damage charges, but on December 3 Judge Marcus Waites ruled that the disruption was limited and that the action posed no threat to public order. Notably, Waites ruling also cites Palestine and the arms trade as important issues.
“This trial was the first time that activists have actually gone to trial for direct action taken against Elbit Systems,” Palestine Action told Mondoweiss in an emailed statement. “All other charges – from many different actions – had been dropped in the run-up to the trials themselves, and this shows why. Elbit and the CPS must’ve been confident that this trial would be one that they can bank on winning, and the fact that they haven’t is a huge win for Palestine Action and for the right to protest in the UK. Importantly, it also provided us our first opportunity to put Elbit on the dock for the atrocities committed with their products.”
“[This] is a huge win for Palestine Action and for the right to protest in the UK. Importantly, it also provided us our first opportunity to put Elbit on the dock for the atrocities committed with their products.”
“The judgement will obviously inspire activists going forward, however, even if it had gone the other way, the campaign of direct action would’ve continued,” the group continued. “The British state is complicit in Israel’s war crimes and has significant partnerships with Elbit Systems, and so resistance from the the state is to be expected. Even so, this victory is huge, not least for the activists involved – who bravely put their bodies and liberties on the line in an attempt to undermine British complicity in Israel’s war crimes and to disrupt the manufacturing of drones.”
In May, Palestine Action activists occupied and shut down the drone factory of an Elbit subsidiary for multiple days. A few months later the group occupied Elbit System’s London headquarters and temporarily shut down operations. According to Palestine Action, Elbit has had to hire 24/7 security in response to the ongoing protests.
Palestine Action made it clear that potential legal ramifications won’t deter the group from continuing to target the defense company. “[We] continue to act to end the flow of drones, armaments, military technologies and surveillance equipment to Israel’s military, to stop the use of these products against Palestinians,” said the group. “Our actions will continue – and so will a number of other trials, providing another opportunity to expose Elbit’s faciliation of war crimes committed against Palestinian civilians and against civilians across the world.”
Outrageously, the UK government is pushing a Bill through Parliament that will make chaining yourself to factory gates a criminal offence punishably with up to 51 weeks in jail.
Wait a minute!!! Am I correct that this ruling allows destruction of private property as a form of protected speech? Based on the logic, one can destroy property merely because one disagrees with the viewpoint of the owner. That does not seem right.
Perhaps what I missing is that this case is a criminal case. Under the laws of England & Wales, could Elbit sue to protestors in civil court for monetary damages?
The UK does not have as roboust free speech rights as America with its First Amendment. I do not think that a court in America would even allow trespass that does not involve property destruction as a form of free speech.
I am curious what any UK lawyers think.