this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2026
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A British judge has sentenced four Palestine Action protesters as terrorists, handing them custodial sentences ranging from four to eight years.

The unprecedented ruling came despite jurors convicting them of criminal charges not connected to terrorism during the prosecution.

On Friday, the presiding judge, Justice Jeremy Johnson, added a “terrorism connection” to their offences.

In a preliminary ruling in March 2025, Johnson found an "appearance" of a terrorism connection in the case, as he said the activists were attempting to influence the Israeli government by restricting their access to weapons. This information was withheld from the jury who convicted them.

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[–] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Bullshit. The full context of the situation was denied to the jury.

Remember, the entire reason we have juries is to allow for jury nullification. That's literally the only benefit of juries. 12 random untrained people will never be better at deciding objective facts of guilt or innocence than a judge with a law degree and decades on the bench. We have juries as a final check against the kind of criminal corruption that has currently overtaken the UK government. The idea is that you can write whatever ridiculous laws you want, but at the end of the day you need to convince 12 average people that an offense worthy of punishment has been committed. The system is intended as a check against out of control government. Again, this is literally how the system is designed. (Judges will of course lie about this to protect their own power.) The government can write a law proscribing the death penalty for stealing a candy bar. But the jury system, if it works as intended, would prevent anyone from being convicted under that law.

The government here deliberately perverted the jury system to avoid jury nullification. They tried them under a minor offense. The jurors probably thought those convicted would get community service or a fine. That's the rightful and just punishment for such an offense. Any greater a penalty, and jury nullification would have been on the table. Instead, the government secured a conviction under a minor offense but was able to get a sentence on par with a serious felony.

For your talk of the system working as intended, you sure are ignoring the government's complete perversion of the jury system that is the very bedrock of our system of justice.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 1 points 1 month ago

They tried them under a minor offense. The jurors probably thought those convicted would get community service or a fine.

"Four Palestine Action activists have been found guilty of criminal damage "

"Corner was also found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm after striking Sgt Kate Evans twice with a sledgehammer, fracturing her spine. "

"An estimated £1m worth of damage was caused during the raid."


"""For damage over £5,000 or more serious cases:

Up to 10 years' imprisonment""""

Yes, the jury said they are guilty of a crime carrying up to 10 years of prison but thought they would just get a fine. Are you really that dense?