Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court has now handed out six month suspended sentences to the ‘Ferranti 2’ Palestine Action activists for an action the pair took against Elbit Systems over four years ago.
Palestine Action: Ferranti 2 activists receive suspended sentences
The activists carried out the action at Elbit’s Ferranti weapons factory in Oldham in February 2021. There, they chained the gates of the entrance shut, and liberally covered the building in symbolic blood-red paint. They sprayed the words “Shut Elbit Down” above the entrance.
A relentless direct action campaign by Palestine Action eventually led to the factory, which had produced imaging technology for Israel’s killer drone fleet, closing down permanently in 2022.
In December of last year, a judge at Manchester Magistrates Court convicted Adam and Drew of criminal damage. This was after the judge ruled out all defences to the charge before their trial even began. Because of this ruling, the activists were unable to introduce any evidence of the genocide in Gaza, the role of Elbit, Israel’s biggest weapons maker, or any of the reasons which led to them taking action.
Refusing to plead ‘guilty’, the pair represented themselves in court, and despite having all their defences denied to them, entered court “as the accusers, not the accused”. Giving evidence, Drew explained how:
We had tried all avenues available to us.
Adam told the court how they arrived at the site before any workers, so as to avoid any harm or inconvenience to them. He said that the damage caused was not reckless, and that they had been careful not to risk injuring anyone.
The Jury were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. However, it found the activists guilty of criminal damage, by a majority decision, on 6 December 2024.
‘Drop the charges, not the bombs’: supporters turn out in number
As with other Palestine Action activists, the prosecution and sentencing of Drew and Adam takes place at a time when the Israeli state, and their arms manufacturers, are attempting to interfere in the British judicial process, and where the British government is abusing terrorist legislation.
A large crowd of supporters met Adam and Drew with Palestine flags and banners as came to court:
One read:
Drop The Charges, Not The Bombs!
Over 40 people packed the public gallery, with other supporters outside the court.
The two activists were defiant, unrepentant, and in good spirits.
In court, the prosecution called for terms of imprisonment for the 2 activists, of between 6 and 18 months. The defence rebutted their arguments. Before Judge Bernadette Baxter, the court handed Drew and Adam six month suspended sentences, with a requirement to do 250 hours unpaid work, and £750 costs.
They left court with their heads held high, to the cheers of waiting supporters:
Both Adam and Drew thanked those who had supported them throughout the past 4 years, and delivered a strong message of defiance, and a call for solidarity with the 20 Palestine Action political prisoners currently in jail, and for further action to shut Elbit down.
A Palestine Action spokesperson said:
The permanent shutting down of Elbit’s Oldham death factory was a major victory in Palestine Action’s direct action campaign against the Israeli weapons maker. Drew and Adam played a significant part in that victory, and despite being denied all defences by the trial judge, they refused to plead guilty, and stood true to their values, despite the threat of prison. It is Elbit and the politicians complicit in the Gaza genocide who should have been standing in the dock, not those who risked their liberty to save lives.
Featured image and additional images via Martin Pope
