'Israel' tried to interfere in anti-Israeli arms protesters hearings

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Guardian
21 Aug 2023 10:44
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A report reveals that Israeli embassy personnel requested that the director general of the attorney general's office intervene in cases involving protests on UK soil.

Activists fix a banner as they protest outside the Elbit Ferranti factory in Waterhead, Oldham (AFP)

The Guardian reported that officials in the Israeli occupation embassy in London tried to diplomatically influence the attorney general’s office to intervene in UK court cases related to the prosecution of protesters, especially the Palestine Action group.

Palestine Action is a direct-action network of organizations and individuals created with the mission of taking action against Elbit Systems, the Israeli occupation's biggest private weapons company, and other corporations engaged in Israeli apartheid, demanding the closure of all such locations.

Obtained by Palestine Action through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, documents seen by The Guardian show that Israeli occupation embassy personnel requested that the director general of the attorney general's office (AGO), Douglas Wilson, intervene in cases involving protests on UK soil.

Although the records are substantially redacted and thus do not reveal what the Israeli officials requested, Wilson stated in an email addressed to embassy representatives following a meeting, "As we noted … the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] makes its prosecution decisions and manages its casework independently. The law officers are unable to intervene on an individual case or comment on issues related to active proceedings."

The meeting’s minutes also refer to the director general of the attorney general's office "noting the operational independence of the CPS and the sensitivities of engaging with them on individual cases."

Wilson's email, which was issued in May 2022, also notified the Israeli officials of the contentious Police, Crime, Courts, and Sentencing Act, which imposed severe constraints on protest, as well as the attorney general's referral of the Colston monument protest case to the court of appeals.

Following the referral, courts ruled that protesters accused of "significant" criminal damage may not invoke human rights arguments in court, thereby curtailing the freedom to demonstrate.

The AGO defended the redactions in response to the FOI request, claiming that revelation "would be likely to prejudice the UK's relations with Israel."

Following the Colston Court of Appeals judgment, Palestine Action activists, like environmental demonstrators, have been convicted in situations comparable to those for which they had previously been acquitted using human rights defenses.

"The disclosure raises a number of questions, not least whether this meeting was about the direct action group Palestine Action. There clearly needs to be further investigations as to the extent to which there’s been any attempt by any representatives from the Israeli embassy to influence cases involving activists,” said Palestine Action’s lawyer, Lydia Dagostino.

It is noteworthy that Palestine Action confirmed that in 2022, its persistent efforts to raise objections against Elbit Systems had been successful in getting two of its locations—in London and Oldham—closed.

The group previously pointed out that drones manufactured by Elbit Systems have been tested on the Palestinian population behind closed doors, noting that the company supplies 85% of "Israel's" fleet of armed drones.