UK government colluded with the Israeli embassy over Palestine Action ‘Filton 18’ cases

New documents have further exposed the UK government’s collusion with the Israeli embassy in the arrest and imprisonment of the ‘Filton 18‘ Palestine Action activists.

Filton 18: government collusion with the Israeli embassy

As the Guardian reported on Tuesday 29 April:

The UK government shared contact details of counter-terrorism police and prosecutors with the Israeli embassy during an investigation into protests at an arms factory, official documents suggest, raising concerns about foreign interference.

The documents suggest political interference in the ongoing case and policing operations. Throughout, state authorities have repeatedly used counter-terror powers to repress activists taking direct action against the Israeli weapons industry in Britain.

Specifically, a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOI) disclosures show the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) directly facilitating Israeli interference in ongoing cases against activists. In the weeks following the first arrests of Filton 18 activists, the AGO shared contact details for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and the ‘SO15’ Counter-Terrorism Command overseeing the investigation, with the Israeli embassy.

In August 2024, the first ten activists of the ‘Filton 18’ were imprisoned after a raid on an Elbit Systems weapons plant in Filton, Bristol. There, they had destroyed Israeli quadcopter drones. Police arrested, imprisoned, and detained them under ‘Counter Terror’ powers. During their pre-charge and pre-trial detention, the courts used this to deny their basic rights. Four UN special rapporteurs have condemned the use of counter-terrorism powers in this case.

Attorney General’s Office: emails to deputy Israeli ambassador to the UK

In the weeks after their arrest, correspondence demonstrates the extent of communications the AGO held with the Israeli embassy. Although the contents is almost entirely redacted, the subject heading of one email shows the AGO’s head of international law and national security Nicola Smith sharing information “to Israelis re CPS/SO15 contact details” on 9 September 2024.

The AGO sent the email to Daniela Ekstein, the deputy Israeli ambassador to the UK. It appears to be a follow-up to a meeting that Smith, Ekstein, the embassy’s counsellor of political affairs Yosef Zilberman, and AGO director Douglas Wilson held on 28 August.

Previously, Palestine Action obtained documents showing that Wilson, who the AGO copied into the email, had discussed ongoing cases of Palestine Action activists with the Israeli embassy. He had shared details relating to SO15, the Counter Terrorism Command. In an unprecedented move, the CPS, as the body prosecuting the case, has submitted to the court that the Filton18’s alleged offences have a ‘terrorism-connection’.

Logically, after the AGO facilitated contact, subsequent correspondence would have presumably taken place between the embassy, CPS, and SO15. Just over two months after the email, terrorism police raided an additional ten activists’ homes. They and arrested them under those same powers. Following this, they charged eight of the activists and remanded them to prison.

Filton 18 charges must be dropped amid political interference

Any improper influence by the Israeli embassy would result in a violation of the Crown Prosecution Service’s General Principle 2.1 that:

The independence of the prosecutor is central to the criminal justice system of a democratic society. Prosecutors are independent from persons or agencies that are not part of the prosecution decision-making process. CPS prosecutors are also independent from the police and other investigators. Prosecutors must be free to carry out their professional duties without political interference and must not be affected by improper or undue pressure or influence from any source.

With the possibility of diplomatic involvement in the Crown’s case, Palestine Action has called for the CPS to drop the charges. This evidence is the latest in a series of documents detailing apparent interference in Palestine Action cases. These have shown deep collusion between the CPS, Home Office, AGO, senior police officials, and representatives of Elbit Systems and the Israeli embassy.

The correspondence raises questions of embassy interference in all manner of policing operations relating to Palestine in Britain. This is particularly pertinent in the context of the state liberally deploying counter-terror powers against activists, journalists, and academics supportive of Palestinian liberation.

A Palestine Action spokesperson stated:

The Israeli Embassy has attempted to interfere in our cases for years. For the first time, our activists are detained for direct action under counter terror powers, the CPS pursuing ‘terrorism-connected’ charges. As this unprecedented escalation of state repression happens, the Israeli Embassy has secured direct communication with the CPS and the ‘counter-terror’ police responsible. Political interference is forbidden in our legal system, and in the Filton 18 case its resulted in the most draconian laws being wielded against them. In light of the information uncovered, continuing the prosecution against them is a serious miscarriage of justice. They must be released and all compromised prosecutions of activists and journalists must be stopped.

Clare Rogers, mother of Filton 18 Political Prisoner Zoe Rogers, said:

My 21-year-old daughter Zoe has been in prison for 8 months without trial and counting. She took action against Elbit because she couldn’t sit on her hands and do nothing while her government committed war crimes by supplying arms to Israel. It’s sickening to learn that the brutal repression she & the Filton18 are experiencing may have been planned in secret conversations between our government and the Israeli embassy. In a just nation, the Filton18 case would be thrown out as soon as this political interference came to light.

Featured image via Martin Pope