logo
Four face 2027 trial over alleged Palestine Action aircraft damage

Four face 2027 trial over alleged Palestine Action aircraft damage

Four people accused of plotting to damage two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton in a demonstration allegedly carried out by members of Palestine Action face trial in 2027.
About £7 million worth of damage was caused to the aircraft at the airbase in Oxfordshire on June 20 in an incident alleged to have a 'terrorist connection', the Old Bailey heard.
Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, Jony Cink, 24, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 36, and Lewis Chiaramello, 22, are charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place 'knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom', and conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
It has previously been alleged the defendants had been heavily involved in Palestine Action at the time.
On the same day they were charged, MPs backed the Government's move to ban the direct action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
On Friday, the defendants appeared at the Old Bailey for a hearing to set a timetable for the case amid heightened security outside the central London court.
The two female defendants appeared by video-link from Bronzefield jail with the two male defendants in the dock in court.
Watched by members of the public in a packed public gallery, the defendants spoke only to confirm their identities.
Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay KC said the case related to 'criminal damage to two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton in the early hours of June 20 which caused extensive damage to the aircraft'.
He said the case was being heard in the terrorism list before Mrs Justice Cheema- Grubb, 'the prosecution submission being this case has a terrorist connection'.
Mr Polnay said a provisional trial fixture of six to eight weeks had been identified from January 18 2027.
He accepted that was 'obviously a considerable distance away' and there was uncertainty at this stage how long any trial would take.
He added the length of the trial would depend on whether the defendants accepted being involved in the 'physical acts undoubtedly taken'.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the 2027 trial date meant an 'inordinately long time' for the four young people to wait in custody.
She said: 'The sooner the real issues in this case are identified the better for everyone, particularly in fixing the trial date.'
The senior judge confirmed the 2027 trial date at the Old Bailey but said she would review it at a plea hearing on January 16 next year.
Gardiner-Gibson, Jony Cink, both of no fixed address, Jeronymides-Norie, of Barnet, north London, and Chiaramello, of Brent, north London, were remanded into custody.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Palestine Action's co-founder asks UK court to overturn terror group ban
Palestine Action's co-founder asks UK court to overturn terror group ban

Reuters

time20 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Palestine Action's co-founder asks UK court to overturn terror group ban

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - The co-founder of a pro-Palestinian campaign group sought on Monday to challenge the British government's decision to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws, a move her lawyers said had "the hallmarks of an authoritarian and blatant abuse of power". Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, is asking London's High Court to give the go-ahead for a full challenge to the group's proscription, which was made on the grounds it committed or participated in acts of terrorism. Earlier this month, the High Court refused Ammori's application to pause the ban and, following an unsuccessful last-ditch appeal, Palestine Action's proscription came into effect just after midnight on July 5. Proscription makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Ammori's lawyer Raza Husain said Palestine Action is the first direct action group to be banned as a terror group, a move he argued was inconsistent with "the honourable history of civil disobedience on conscientious grounds in our country". Dozens have been arrested for holding placards purportedly supporting the group since the ban and Ammori's lawyers say protesters expressing support for the Palestinian cause have also been subject to increased scrutiny from police officers. Britain's interior minister Yvette Cooper, however, has said violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that Palestine Action's activities – including breaking into a military base and damaging two planes – justify proscription. Palestine Action has increasingly targeted Israel-linked companies in Britain, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances or damaging equipment. The group accuses the British government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in its ongoing bombardment of Gaza. Israel has repeatedly denied committing abuses in its war in Gaza, which began after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

Russia launches major aerial attack on Kyiv
Russia launches major aerial attack on Kyiv

South Wales Guardian

time23 minutes ago

  • South Wales Guardian

Russia launches major aerial attack on Kyiv

The attack killed two people and wounded 15, including a 12-year-old, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. In Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district, a drone struck the entrance to a subway station where people had taken cover. Videos posted on social media showed the station platform engulfed by smoke, with dozens of people inside. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said the station had to be ventilated in what he called an 'enhanced mode'. The heaviest strikes hit Kyiv's Darnytskyi district, where a nursery, supermarket and warehouse facilities caught fire. The hours-long drone and missile assault on Kyiv overnight into Monday underscored the urgency of Ukraine's need for further Western military aid, especially in air defence, a week after Mr Trump said deliveries would arrive in Ukraine within days. The virtual meeting will be led by British Defence Secretary John Healey and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius. Mr Healey said US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and Nato leader Mark Rutte, as well as Nato's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, will attend the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group. Moscow has intensified its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate as Russian drone production expands. In a shift of tone towards Russia, the US president last week gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face tougher sanctions. At Monday's meeting, Mr Healey was expected to urge Ukraine's Western partners to launch a coincidental '50-day drive' to get Kyiv the weapons it needs to fight Russia's bigger army and force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, the UK Government said in a statement. Mr Trump's arms plan, announced a week ago, involves European nations sending American weapons to Ukraine via Nato – either from existing stockpiles or buying and donating new ones. The US president indicated discussions were partly focused on advanced Patriot air defence systems and said a week ago that deliveries would begin 'within days'. But last week various senior officials suggested no transfers had yet taken place. Gen Grynkewich told The Associated Press on Thursday that 'preparations are under way' for weapons transfers to Ukraine while US ambassador to Nato Matthew Whitaker said he could not give a time frame. Germany has said it offered to finance two new Patriot systems for Ukraine and raised the possibility of supplying systems it already owns and having them replaced by the US. But delivery could take time, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested, because 'they have to be transported, they have to be set up; that is not a question of hours, it is a question of days, perhaps weeks'. Other Patriot systems could come thanks to Switzerland, whose defence ministry said on Thursday it was informed by the US Defence Department that it will 'reprioritise the delivery' of five previously ordered systems to support Ukraine. While Ukraine waits for Patriots, a senior Nato official said the alliance is still co-ordinating the delivery of other military aid – such as ammunition and artillery rounds – which includes aid from the US that was briefly paused. Mr Zelensky said on Saturday that his officials have proposed a new round of peace talks this week. Russian state media on Sunday reported that no date has yet been set for the negotiations, but said that Istanbul would probably remain the host city. The Kremlin spokesman said on Sunday that Russia is open to peace with Ukraine, but achieving its goals remains a priority. The overnight Russian barrage of Kyiv began shortly after midnight and continued until around 6am. Residents of the capital were kept awake by machine gun fire, buzzing drone engines, and multiple loud explosions. It was the first major attack on Kyiv since Mr Trump's special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg arrived in the city last Monday. Russia halted strikes on Kyiv during his visit. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 426 Shahed and decoy drones overnight into Monday, as well as 24 missiles of various types. It said 200 drones were intercepted with 203 more jammed or lost from radars. Ukraine, meanwhile, continued to deploy its domestically produced long-range drones. Russia's Ministry of Defence said that its forces shot down 74 Ukrainian drones overnight, with almost a third of them destroyed close to the Russian capital. Twenty-three drones were shot down in the Moscow region, the ministry said, 15 of which were intercepted over the city itself.

Palestine Action terror ban made UK ‘international outlier', High Court told
Palestine Action terror ban made UK ‘international outlier', High Court told

Leader Live

time23 minutes ago

  • Leader Live

Palestine Action terror ban made UK ‘international outlier', High Court told

The group's co-founder Huda Ammori is making a bid to legally challenge Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's decision to proscribe the group under anti-terror laws, announced after the group claimed an action which saw two Voyager planes damaged at RAF Brize Norton on June 20. The ban means that membership of, or support for, the direct action group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. On July 4, Ms Ammori failed in a High Court bid to temporarily block the ban coming into effect, with the Court of Appeal dismissing a challenge over that decision less than two hours before the proscription came into force on July 5. The case returned to the High Court in London on Monday, where lawyers for Ms Ammori asked a judge to grant the green light for a full legal challenge against the decision to ban the group, saying it was an 'unlawful interference' with freedom of expression. Raza Husain KC said: 'We say the proscription of Palestine Action is repugnant to the tradition of the common law and contrary to the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights).' The barrister continued: 'The decision is so extreme as to render the UK an international outlier.' Mr Husain added: 'The decision to proscribe Palestine Action had the hallmarks of an authoritarian and blatant abuse of power.' 'The consequences are not just limited to arrest,' Mr Husain later said, telling the court there was 'rampant uncertainty' in the aftermath of the ban. Blinne Ni Ghralaigh KC, also for Ms Ammori, later said: 'The impacts (of proscription) have already been significant.' She continued: 'Dozens and dozens of people have been arrested for protesting, seated and mostly silent protest.' The Home Office is defending the legal challenge. Previously, Ben Watson KC, for the Home Office, said Palestine Action could challenge the Home Secretary's decision at the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (POAC), a specialist tribunal, rather than at the High Court. Sir James Eadie KC, representing the department on Monday, said that an 'exceptional case' would be needed for it to go to the High Court, rather than the POAC. He said: 'Judicial review is, and has been accepted to be, a remedy of last resort and that is for very good and well-established reasons.' However, Mr Husain told the court on Monday morning that the POAC was not 'convenient nor effective' in this case. He continued: 'It would be quite absurd to say that we should tolerate the consequences of the proscription… even if it is unlawful, and just go to POAC. 'That is an absurd position.' Ms Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action on June 23, stating that the vandalism of the two planes, which police said caused an estimated £7 million of damage, was 'disgraceful'. More than 100 people were arrested across the country during demonstrations this weekend protesting against the proscription, with protests held in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Truro on Saturday. Saturday's arrests brought the total number of people arrested since the ban came into force to more than 200, with more than 72 arrested across the UK last weekend and 29 the week before. The hearing before Mr Justice Chamberlain is due to conclude on Monday. A decision may be given at the end of the hearing, or in writing at a later date.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store