BREAKING: Palestine activist Strecker found not guilty in Jersey ‘terror’ trial

Jersey-based anti-genocide activist Natalie Strecker has been found not guilty at her trial on ‘terror’ charges for supporting the Palestinians’ right of resistance to Israel’s occupation, which is guaranteed under international law. She could have faced up to ten years in prison if convicted.

The government had told the ‘jurat’s of the trial – lay judges – to ignore that international law, but the ‘not guilty’ verdict was delivered just now anyway.

In a statement after the verdict, Ms Strecker said that all focus should remain on the Palestinian people and Israel’s crimes against them:

I, Natalie Strecker, following one of the worst and most stressful years of my life, have finally been vindicated of the charges of inviting support for a proscribed organisation. I am grateful to the court and the jurats, for their deliberations and correctly concluding that, despite maybe clumsy wording on occasion, I never intended to invite support for any of the groups cited. I also thank them for the respect and fellow feeling they demonstrated to me throughout the proceedings.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank my incredible legal team, Mark and Tim for their assistance during this difficult time, I could not have asked for better representation.  I also thank all of my friends, who have faithfully supported me during these difficult days, I love you all. I thank, too, all those in our community who have offered support and words of encouragement throughout this journey, it has meant everything. To my much loved husband, my mother-in-law, and family, I am so very sorry that you had to be put through this, and I am eternally grateful for your love and support.

This has personally been an incredibly traumatic and dehumanising time, compounded by old wounds triggered by the manner in which I was arrested. I am a care survivor, a survivor of abuse, because of the failings of our government and institutions as a child.

I walk out of court today with my head held high and in the knowledge that it was my character that was put on trial, and I won.

However, the Palestinian people, the most dehumanised community on our planet, continue to be subjected to genocide, apartheid and the most brutal ethnic cleansing. It is a stain on our collective conscience, and I implore islanders to keep doing all they can to bring it to an end, alongside working to end all the other genocides taking place, such as those in Sudan and the Congo.

As for myself, I remain committed to the struggle for a kinder, fairer world, in which the right to freedom, justice, equality and a life of dignity are guaranteed for all in our human family.

Thank you and free Palestine.

This is the latest in a string of acquittals under supposed ‘anti-terror’ legislation that the Starmer regime has weaponised against the pro-Palestine movement and journalists who expose Israel’s trial, but his ‘lawfare’ war continues to cause huge stress and expense to its humanitarian victims as Starmer fights to protect Israel and its interests.

Featured image via Natalie Strecker