Palestine Action political prisoner FREE – but just as THREE others are arrested

On Friday 24 January, a Palestine Action political prisoner was released from HMP Dovegate after spending almost a month on remand. It was over a Christmas Day action at UAV Engines – a company directly complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Palestine Action: free at last

Bryn Higgs, from Ullapool, was arrested on 25 December 2024 alongside four others following an action which destroyed the walls at the premises of UAV Engines Ltd – Shenstone’s Israeli drone factory:

In a hearing at Stafford Crown Court, Bryn was granted bail – ahead of a trial set for January 2026.

At the time of his arrest, Higgs was awaiting charges for a previous action targeting the same factory in July. He was charged on Boxing Day and remanded to prison on 27 December:

BREAKING: Bryn has been remanded to prison after he broke through the walls of an Elbit drone factory in Staffordshire on Christmas day.

He'd also shut down the Israeli weapons maker six months before.

Here is a snippet of what motivated him to take direct action. pic.twitter.com/2NbEruQZqz

— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) December 27, 2024

UAV Engines is operated by Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest weapons manufacturer, and produces engines for Elbit’s killer drones. In addition to making engines for Elbit’s Hermes 450 drone, which has been deployed as a mass-murder device throughout the Gaza genocide, the UEL AR731 Wankel-type rotary engine, produced at the Staffordshire factory, is being used in Israeli Harop Kamikaze drones, which are currently being upgraded to kill autonomously.

Elbit have dishonestly claimed that they do not export to Israel, but this is disproven by export license data for military end use:

Every day UAV Engines factory loses production, Palestinian lives are saved, and Palestine Action have been targeting the plant since the start of our four-year long direct action campaign. Blockades, occupations, vehicular lock-ons, and now another assault on the factory roof, have shut the plant down repeatedly.

UAV Engines most recent accounts show that the company is now losing money – nearly half a million by the end of 2023.

BREAKING: Bryn has been released from prison after one month inside.

He was remanded following an action on Christmas day, when he and four others broke through the walls of an Israeli weapons factory.

He'd also taken action against the same arms firm six months before. pic.twitter.com/9Ao0mEgHV9

— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) January 26, 2025

Speaking before his arrest, Higgs said:

The spotlight should always be on be on Palestine and the Palestinians’ struggle for equal human rights under international law, and against Israel’s apartheid, ethnic cleansing, occupation and genocide.

Meanwhile, on Monday 27 January three other Palestine Action actionists were nicked by cops. It was over a previous action at Elbit’s Kent factory:

BREAKING: Three actionists arrested after they smashed a van through two gates on the outer perimeter of Elbit's 'highly secured' compound.

Once inside, they covered the Kent Israeli weapons factory in red paint to symbolise Palestinian bloodshed. pic.twitter.com/iX2ab1BCY1

— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) January 27, 2025

Featured image supplied and additional images via Martin Pope