On Tuesday July 15th, pro-Palestine group ‘Shut Down Leonardo’ drove a van into the perimeter fence of the Leonardo weapons company plant at Crewe Road North, Edinburgh. Three activists remained on top of the vehicle, where they unfurled a Palestine flag.
Leonardo were targeted because the Italian arms manufacturer supplies parts for Israeli F-35 jets and Apache helicopters, which have been fundamental to the genocide in Gaza. The Edinburgh factory produces laser guidance systems, which the Israeli military use to guide the huge 2000 pound bombs which have reduced Gaza to rubble. A recent United Nations report names Leonardo as the “main military contributor” to the ongoing genocide.
The Italian weapons firm makes hundreds of millions in profits each year, but their Edinburgh weapons factory is still subsidised, unwittingly, by the Scottish tax-payer, via Scottish Enterprise. Between 2016 and 2020, the Italian arms giant received £7,000,000 in funding, and this has continued in spite of growing international condemnation of Israel’s war crimes.
This was the first action by ‘Shut Down Leonardo’, but the weapons factory has been the scene of many previous protests by Scottish activists. Never previously, however, has the Terrorism Act been used to arrest and detain protestors in Scotland for an extended period of time, which is precisely what happened to the 3 people who were eventually taken down from the roof of the van, on July 15th. They were held incommunicado for 6 days, subject to round the clock interrogation, and their homes were raided by counter-terrorism police. When they were eventually brought to court on Monday, nearly a week after being arrested, charged under Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000, legislation which is as vague as it is Draconian, they were released on bail.
Following the decision by Parliament to proscribe direct action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation on 4th July, lawyers for the group sought to get proscription postponed pending an application for judicial review. Judge Chamberlain denied the application, arguing that there would be no ‘chilling effect’ on pro-Palestine protest, because of the group being proscribed, even for former members of Palestine Action. In his judgement he said, “It will remain lawful for the claimant and other persons who were members of PA prior to proscription to continue to express their opposition to Israel’s actions in Gaza and elsewhere…” He continued that, “Even if their protests take the form of direct action which involves criminality, the fact they were previously members of a group which is now proscribed would not as a matter of law aggravate their criminal conduct.”
Only weeks later, in light of the mass arrests of protestors supporting Palestine Action, the harassment and arrest of those protesting Israel’s actions in Gaza, as well as the use of terrorism laws against protestors like those arrested in Edinburgh, who had no association with Palestine Action, Judge Chamberlain was forced to re-think his position. Granting permission to proceed with a judicial review of the proscription, he conceded that “persons protesting against what they consider to be Israel’s genocide and in support of Palestine or Gaza – who are not on any view expressing support for PA – have attracted various kinds of police attention, from questioning to arrest.” Furthermore, that the police conduct was “liable to have a chilling effect on those wishing to express a legitimate political view.” He referred to other cases “where the line between legitimate and proscribed speech is more difficult to draw”, saying that “the existence of a large category of cases that are close to the line demonstrates that the proscription order is likely to have a significant deterrent effect on legitimate speech.”
The misuse of the Terrorism Act against the Leonardo protestors is another example of overreach by the police. As a post on X (formerly Twitter), issued by ‘Shut Down Leonardo’ at the time of the protest said: “Trying to stop genocide is a duty, the real criminals are the ones enabling it.”
While a Judicial Review against the proscription of Palestine Action will now be heard, it will not be heard until November, and who knows how many more Palestinians will have been killed, or starved to death by then. To quote from the press release, issued by ‘Shut Down Leonardo’ following the group’s inaugural action: “The British state, may have proscribed Palestine Action, but the tactic of direct action has a long history in Scotland, and the tactic itself cannot be proscribed.”