‘Very unusual’: UK Palestine activists could be sentenced as terrorists

Court to rule on whether five activists accused of vandalising a Barclays Bank will face terrorism sentencing.Published On 21 Aug 2026Preston, United Kingdom – Five Palestine Action activists in the UK are set to hear whether terrorism-linked offences could be included in their sentencing.Brendon O’Hagan, 28, Amanda Kelly, 31, Hmeera Atiqnisar, 31, Mohammed Malik, 28, and Alma Yaniv, 70, were convicted of causing 212,000 pounds ($290,000) in damages during a direct action against a branch of Barclays Bank in the town of Burnley in Lancashire in August 2024. The activists were protesting the bank’s shareholdings in the Israeli defence company Elbit Systems.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Andy Burnham apology for Labour stance on Gaza: Is UK’s position shifting?list 2 of 4Thousands rally in London in support of Gaza, demand new PM take actionlist 3 of 4Police arrest dozens at London rally supporting Palestine Actionlist 4 of 4Palestine Action co-founder wins UK Supreme Court appeal bidend of listOn Friday, Preston Crown Court is expected to determine whether the five activists, who are scheduled to be sentenced on September 4, will face terrorism sentencing.According to leading criminal lawyer Raj Chada, of the firm Hodge Jones & Allen, which has been involved in defending a number of Palestine Action activists, “terrorist connection” laws date back years, but only appear to have been applied recently and solely in Palestine Action cases.“Certainly, in our experience, using the law like this is very, very unusual and appears to be being used to target Palestine Action activists whose offence predates the banning of the group,“ he said.At the time of their verdicts, Palestine Action had not been proscribed as a terrorist group. Neither the defendants nor the jury were aware that terrorism charges might be involved.However, following the verdicts trial judge Philip Parry notified the defendants’ legal team that he intended to consider whether the offence carried a “terrorist connection”. Parry made a similar move after circulating a ruling from a case in June, during which four Palestine Action activists convicted of criminal damage at Elbit Systems’ Filton site near Bristol were sentenced as terrorists nearly two years after their protest at Woolwich Crown Court in London.