UK court acquits Palestine Action activists as prosecution provides no evidence of alleged crimes

A UK court has found five Palestine Action protesters not guilty after they were charged with locking-on after shutting down Kent’s Israeli weapons factory in 2024.

On 15 April last year, five activists secured themselves to each other and to a vehicle to prevent the manufacture of Israeli weaponry at the factory in Discovery Park.

The activists had pleaded “not guilty” to charges of locking on or being equipped for locking on, which are new offences under the Public Order Act 2023, in an effort to block the four entrances to the site which includes property owned by Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.

On the second day of trial, the prosecution informed the court it would offer no evidence and the five were acquitted of all charges.

A Palestine Action spokesperson said: “Whether these activists were acquitted or convicted, they should be proud to know that they had taken material action against complicity in Israel’s war crimes.”

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