Five activists from Palestine Work Scotland They were sentenced to prison after occupying a weapons factory owned by a French company that has partnerships with Israeli arms manufacturers.
The five activists were charged with breaking into the arms factory of the French multinational Thales in Glasgow and were sentenced to between six and eight months in prison. Sixteen other activists are also being held pending trial for their protest against arms sales to Israel, which is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
“Five activists have been jailed after occupying the Thales arms factory in Glasgow, costing the company over £1m in losses. The protests were intended to demonstrate Scotland’s complicity in Israeli colonialism and genocide,” they noted in a post by the Palestinian Action Organisation. Three of them were sentenced to 12 months in prison and two to 14 and 16 months, and will now serve half of that time in prison for trying to stop the genocide.
BREAKING: Five activists have been jailed today after occupying the Thales arms factory in Glasgow, costing more than £1m.
Charged with disrupting Scotland’s complicity in colonialism and genocide, three were sentenced to 12 months in prison, and two to 14 and 16 months. pic.twitter.com/5Uef9v6sxa
— Palestinian Action (@Pal_action) August 20, 2024
Stuart Bretherton, Eva Simmons, 25, Callum Lacey, 23, Erica Higgitt, 23, and Sumayyah Javed, 22, climb the Thales UK building in Govan, Glasgow, on June 1, 2022.
The five occupied the roof of the arms factory and raised banners demanding a halt to production.
Three of those convicted of “disturbing public order” were sentenced to 12 months in prison, while two of those convicted of “disturbing public order and malicious damage” received sentences of 14 and 16 months. They are expected to serve half of their sentences in prison.
The judge said the sentences were intended to deter further activity against arms companies in Scotland. That meant setting a standard sentence to prevent the pro-Palestinian crowd from doubling down on direct questioning of companies that sell arms to the state of Israel to carry out genocide in Gaza.
Thales is one of the world’s largest arms companies, producing armored vehicles, missile systems and military drones. According to Palestinian workThales is working in partnership with Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms company, to produce military drones at their joint factory in Leicester, called UAV Tactical Systems.
Spokesperson Palestinian work “Jailing activists for taking action against Scotland’s arms trade with Israel only serves to protect companies that facilitate genocide,” he said. “These sentences will encourage more people to recognise Scotland’s complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza and to take action against it. “The perpetrators are the ones carrying out the massacres of the Palestinian people, not the ones taking action to stop them,” he added.
“Subtly charming bacon junkie. Infuriatingly humble beer trailblazer. Introvert. Evil reader. Hipster-friendly creator.”