[Pnews] Four Palestine Action Activists Walk Free After Jury Refuses To Convict Them

[Prisoner News]

popularresistance.org
<https://popularresistance.org/four-palestine-action-activists-walk-free-after-jury-refuses-to-convict-them/>
Four Palestine Action Activists Walk Free After Jury Refuses To Convict
Them
By The Canary.

------------------------------
[image: 2024915-2.jpg]

In Bradford Crown Court, a two-week trial ended against four Palestine
Action <https://www.thecanary.co/topics/palestine-action/> activists, with
the jury on Friday 13 September refusing to convict them of charges of
‘criminal damage’ after they shut down an Israel
<https://www.thecanary.co/topics/israel/>-supplying military electronics
firm in April 2024.
Palestine Action: A Jury Concurs, Kind Of

The jury had been out for deliberations since 2:30pm on 11 September, after
the trial commenced on 3 September. The Palestine Action activists will now
face a retrial.

The ‘Shipley Four’ occupied the premises of ‘Teledyne Defence and Space’,
at Airedale House, Shipley, for over 14 hours on 2 April, six months into
Israel’s genocide in Gaza, to prevent its manufacture of weapons parts used
for war crimes.

For the duration of the occupation, Palestine Action activists used
sledgehammers to break apart the site – smashing the roof, windows, and the
interior premises – with damage of £571,383 alleged in Court:

This damage was purposeful; intended to halt Teledyne Shipley’s manufacture
of missile parts for Israel’s war machine. The site, between 2009 and 2014,
was granted at least 86 licenses
<https://caat.org.uk/data/exports-uk/licence-list?region=Israel&company=Teledyne+Technologies>
for the export of weapons to Israel – mostly for ‘ML11’-category military
electronics equipment, and ‘ML4’ category explosive weapons, munitions, or
parts therefor.
Teledyne: Complicit In, And Profiting From, Israel’s Genocide

After 2014, the company’s sales and licensing was handled by the parent
company ‘Teledyne UK’, which continued to export vast quantities of ML4 and
ML11 weapons to Israel as part of its 48 export licenses granted between
2014 and 2020.

The American company Teledyne has a $5.6bn yearly turnover
<http://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/profile?s=TDY:NYQ> and is,
along with its subsidiary ev2, the largest exporter (by volume of licenses
granted) of weaponry from Britain to Israel. A significant proportion of
the company’s almost 200 export licenses for weapons and weapons parts to
the US
<http://caat.org.uk/data/exports-uk/licence-list?region=Israel,United+States+of+America&company=Teledyne+Technologies>,
2009-2020, will also form into finished products ultimately exported to
Israel.

Teledyne Defence and Space, Shipley, manufactures key components for
missile systems – specifically missile filters – which will comprise the
ML4 exports made yearly from the site. Teledyne Defence and Space boasts
<https://www.teledynedefence.co.uk/2021/markets/Pages/default.aspx> of its
involvement with missile products procured by Israel including the
AGM-Harpoon <http://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/harpoon/>, AIM-120 AMRAAM
<http://breakingdefense.com/2023/11/israel-uses-f-35i-to-shoot-down-cruise-missile-a-first-for-joint-strike-fighter/>,
and AGM-114 Hellfire
<http://archive.ph/20141122174958/http:/www.defensenews.com/article/20141116/DEFREG04/311160018/Israel-Air-Force-Hones-Patriot-Batteries-UAV-Defense>
missiles deployed by Israel against Gaza – the latter reportedly being used
to strike
<http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/11/12/714488/US-Hellfire-missiles-used-to-strike-main-Gaza-hospital--Reports>
Al-Shifa hospital.

Teledyne Defence and Space also produces components for the American’s
Tomahawk
<http://news.usni.org/2024/01/12/centcom-uss-carney-launched-tomahawk-land-attack-missile-against-houthi-radar-site>
and Patriot
<http://archive.ph/20141122174958/http:/www.defensenews.com/article/20141116/DEFREG04/311160018/Israel-Air-Force-Hones-Patriot-Batteries-UAV-Defense>
missiles, deployed by US forces against Yemen. The Shipley site also
produces parts, including filters and multi-function assemblies, for UAVs
(drones) and aircraft, along with radar systems including the AN/APG-81
(AESA) type fitted in Lockheed Martin F-35 Fighter jets
A Necessary Action

Following their arrest, one of the four Palestine Action activists was
remanded in prison for one month, and another remanded for three months.

While one of the four self-represented throughout the trial, the other
three opted to dismiss their counsel following the conclusion of evidence –
and the judge’s decision to deny them all of their defences.

While making closing speeches, the activists reminded jurors of their right
to acquit according to their conscience. When the judge was asked for
clarification on this by the jury, she told the jury that no one is able to
direct the jury to convict but they must follow the legal directions which
rule out any lawful excuse for the action taken.

Subsequently, they refused to return a verdict. Despite the lack of public
interest in pursuing the prosecution, a retrial is expected to happen in
February 2026.

In their evidence, the Palestine Action activists spoke of the necessity of
taking action against Israel’s crimes, and particularly in Britain – which
fostered the Zionist project and continues to arm it. One activist, Ruby
Hamill, 20, stated:

This country has had a hand in these crimes from the beginning and it is
therefore our duty to stop them. We acted on the 2nd April out of
necessity. Lives and property were on the line. We acted in defence of
both, not to the contrary as accused. And in doing so we gave hope.

I hope to continue to be a part of a movement that was giving people in
such depraved circumstances a bit of hope, hope that the self-proclaiming
democracies would listen to the citizens, despite not listening to the
millions weekly on the streets, choosing to demonise us instead. Hope that
systems of oppression and companies like Teledyne would suffer financially
and fall.

Palestine Action: It Could Be Any Of Us

A second Palestine Action activist testified that they were motivated to
act upon seeing images of a boy in Gaza, carrying parts of his brothers’
corpse in his backpack – with the brother dismembered by missiles possibly
contributed to by Teledyne.

This recalled, for them, how their family members were slaughtered as
children by Japanese forces:

I know that the families targeted by the missiles Teledyne Defence and
Space are involved with could have looked like mine and their Grandchildren
could be standing in my very place.

Another Palestine Action activist, Syed Najim Shah, also commented on these
motivations, having seen unbearable reports of the torture of children –
which is something he has seen from Israel dating back decades, including
to the murder of children in Sabra and Shatila exactly 42 years ago.

Another activist, Daniel Jones, commented that at the time of the action,
Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza was under siege – babies lying dead in incubators
as a result. The damage caused to Teledyne, Shipley, intended to halt the
flow of arms to Israel and protect human life.

The CPS has said it will re-try the case against the Palestine Action
activists.
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