00:00A court case linked to direct action protests against the defence industries raising wider questions about protest rights and criminal
00:08justice in the UK.
00:09Zoe Rogers, a 22-year-old activist from East London, has been cleared of criminal damage after a retrial at
00:15Woolwich Crown Court.
00:16She's one of six Palestine action activists accused of a break-in at Elbit Systems Factory in Bristol in August
00:232024.
00:24As I said in my closing speech, I'll never regret what I did because there is a good chance that
00:31my actions, or all of our actions that night, saved people's lives.
00:37Obviously, I was not expecting to be arrested for terrorism and held for three times the length of the legal
00:44limit, but no, I won't. I'll never regret my actions.
00:50The defendants said their aim was to damage drones and equipment they believed were linked to harm against Palestinians.
00:56Ms Rogers said she took part because she believed democratic routes, including petitions, contacting her MP and attending protests, had
01:03failed to bring change.
01:04I was horrified to learn that the weapons that were being used to kill people were being manufactured in the
01:08UK, on our doorsteps in places like Bristol and Leicester and Kent.
01:13And so I tried every democratic means available to me to stop the flow of weapons.
01:19Four of her co-defendants, Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Camillo and Fatima Rajwani, were convicted of criminal damage.
01:26I mean, it is unjust.
01:29And, yeah, I did admit that I'd damaged property, but there are supposed to be protections in law for people
01:35who damage property to save lives,
01:37such as the defences that were removed from us without the judge having heard any evidence at all.
01:41The court previously heard security staff said they were threatened during the raid, with allegations of sledgehammers being swung and
01:46a fire extinguisher used.
01:48The defendants denied planning violence.
01:51Yeah, it was terrifying, as I said on the stand, because of the level of violence we faced from both
01:57security guards and police.
02:00It hasn't really impacted me, but I know that some of the others have been quite affected.
02:06Fatima Zainab, for instance, has panic attacks whenever there's loud noises or someone shouts at her.
02:14So there's definitely been an effect on some of us.
02:19In pre-trial rulings, prosecutors argued the case had what they described as a terrorism connection, although no anti-terror
02:25charges were brought.
02:26Trial judge, Mr Justice Johnson, ruled that issue would not form part of the criminal trial itself.
02:32He may still consider it during sentencing for the defendants, which is in June.
02:36The case is likely to remain closely watched because of what it could mean for future protest-related prosecutions.
02:41It does feel unjust, but what's happening to my co-defendants is far more unjust and it's something that everyone
02:48should be concerned about because it will set a precedent in UK law where you can be found guilty of
02:55something as simple as criminal damage and be sentenced as a terrorist.
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