Four Palestine Action activists known as ‘the Filton 4’ – Charlotte Head, 29; Samuel Corner, 23; Leona Kamio, 30; and Fatema Rajwani, 21 – were told by Judge Mr Justice Johnson they would be sentenced as having a ‘terrorist connection’ following convictions for criminal damage arising out of their involvement in direct action at the Elbit Systems factory in Filton, South Gloucestershire, England.
The development came after seven people were arrested and charged at a Palestine rally in Brisbane’s CBD, including a Gaza Flotilla member who had recently been detained by Israeli forces. Amnesty International Australia is deeply concerned by reports of police shoving an elderly protester to the ground.
Almost 30 people have been arrested following the introduction of draconian laws by the Queensland Government in March 2026 that ban the phrase ‘from the river to the sea’.
Prior to its introduction, Amnesty International Australia warned that the ban posed a threat to fundamental freedoms, particularly freedom of expression and assembly.
Under international human rights law, any restrictions on freedom of expression or peaceful assembly must be lawful, necessary, and proportionate. These measures fail to meet those standards, unjustifiably restricting the exercise of fundamental human rights.
These developments are examples of the erosion of people’s right to protest in a number of democracies. In New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, governments have introduced laws that restrict protest locations, expand police powers, and impose harsher penalties on protestors. This trend is also evident in the UK Court of Appeal’s ruling upholding the listing of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
As people continue to protest genocide and other grave human rights violations across the world, the introduction of anti-protest laws restricting fundamental civil and political rights, coupled with an increase in police violence in their enforcement, reflects a growing disregard for fundamental international human rights standards – standards that underpin our democratic systems of government.
The abuse of the humanitarian flotilla activists by Israeli authorities was another example of civil and political rights under attack. Amnesty International Australia welcomes the Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigation into grave allegations of violence, sexual assault and other mistreatment by Israeli authorities against the Australian members of that group.
Andrew Witheford, Amnesty International Australia’s Strategic Campaigner, said:
“Ramped-up attacks on civil and political rights in many democratic states are symptomatic of a broader, global threat to fundamental freedoms.
“Millions of people around the world have come together to demand an end to Israel’s genocide, apartheid and occupation, and to call for justice for Palestinians. The increasing crackdown on peaceful protest reflects a pattern of discriminatory – and disproportionate – restrictions on civil society.
“From the UK to Australia, authorities should not only respect the right to protest, but actively defend it.”
Andrew Witheford, Amnesty International Australia’s Strategic Campaigner
“From the UK to Australia, authorities should not only respect the right to protest, but actively defend it. Throughout history, and across the world, protests have played a crucial role in both protecting and advancing respect for human rights and holding governments to account.”
In response to the UK judge’s announcement, Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said:
“The defendants in this case were sentenced as terrorists because prosecutors want to make an example of them and set a precedent for how direct action protesters could be treated in the future. We should all be worried about what this means for other individuals taking direct action in protest of a genocide or any other issue.
“The use of terrorism laws against direct action protesters must end.”
Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive
“The right to protest is one of the most effective tools we have to hold our leaders to account, and today is another step in the ongoing crackdown in this country against it.
“It is completely disproportionate to punish protesters for criminal damage as if they were terrorists, a sentence that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. The use of terrorism laws against direct action protesters must end.”
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