Tag Archives: anti-terrorism legislation

Please note that this article has been updated by the author to reflect one key aspect of the events of 6 August 2024.

We need to discuss, as a Party, how we are going to put ourselves forward in defence of civil liberties.

In March 2024, I, along with my girlfriend, helped a friend move from Wales to London, because we had access to a van and were looking for an excuse to meet up and hang out. On the long drive along the M4, we had several long discussions about my friend’s unique experiences, notably in refugee volunteering and work in the charity sector. These conversations have shaped my identity as a Radical Social Liberal. Suffice to say, that car journey had a profound impact on me.

Right now, as I write this, that same friend is on her way to incarceration, having been sentenced to 6 years imprisonment. She has been sentenced and jailed as a terrorist, which will have far reaching consequences for her life. She, along with her actionist comrades, broke into Elbit Systems’ site in Filton in August 2024 with the stated and public aim of dismantling weapons of war, which were being manufactured to further enable the Israeli Armed Forces to commit genocide in Gaza. These people did not set out to hurt anyone. The conviction is already precarious due to what been alleged to be an unsafe conviction. I do also wish to state, for the record, that I am only writing this now as sentencing has been carried out and reporting restrictions have now been lifted. Almost everything I have said here is echoing what has already been said by various press and public outlets.

The real kicker for me has been that despite the offence was ruled to be not terrorism, the defendants were not being tried for a terrorism offence, and the jury had no knowledge where their vote to convict would lead. Regardless of your feelings on the actions of the Filton actionists, the way their trial has been handled is highly suspect and it could be said that the CPS were seeking to make an example of them to prevent further direction against Israeli arms manufacturing in the UK.